A Thousand Silver Scars
by AmicableAlien
Summary: The Siege of Ba Sing Se has entered its 593rd day. Commander Prince Lu Ten would give his life for his nation and his father's approval. But when he is captured and imprisoned by the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation Prince is thrust on a different path, stripped of his honour and his name, fighting to survive in world ripped apart by war.
1. Chapter 1

**A Thousand Silver Scars**

* * *

"...The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function: without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends upon it."

\- Ronald Spiers, _Band of Brothers_

* * *

 _The Agrarian Zone, Ba Sing Se_.

 _Day 593 of the Great Siege_.

 _Sunset_

* * *

"Have they started yet?"

The commander blinked. It was the only sign he gave of surprise.

He pushed back from the metal ridge of the defence barrier. The iron was slick under hand, greasy with rain and the constant mud. In front of him, darkness gathered over the land in silence. Through the slit of the defence shell, no-man's land waited. "No."

"Bastards."

A ghost of a smile flickered across the Commander's face. Always pale, the weeks of night-raids by the Earth Kingdom forces had turned his skin an exhausted grey. He dug his fingers into red-rimmed eyes, trying to rub away the burning need for sleep. "You'll know they don't start until well past sunset, Hirota."

"I know." The colonel took a chance and pulled off his helmet. Under the metal cap, his hair was caught back in a loose tail, not the regulation bun the Fire Nation army required. He raked his fingers through the black strands. "Just wanted to see some mud-rats fry."

He sighed and resettled his helmet. "Two days."

The commander didn't need to ask what was due to happen in two days. The whole battalion was counting down the hours and minutes before their relief arrived and they could retreat to the reserve lines. After three weeks in the busiest section of the front line assault, the prospect of a week spent sleeping through the night was like redemption for a sinner.

Commander Prince Lu Ten of the Imperial Fire Nation Army took a final glare at the silent fields before them. What had once been long, flat grasslands were now pitted and bumped with defensive towers, trenches and dug-out pits to house the benders and soldiers who threw themselves against the Fire Nation army nightly. Where fruit trees once stood, there were only craters and in between the craters, tiny lumps of Earth Kingdom graves.

The Earth King's soldiers buried their men in the hour's space between day and night. In return, the Fire Nation had an hour before sunrise to burn their own dead. War created these strange truces, even a war of destruction. It was renewed every time a relief force came on either side and up to now, no one had disregarded it. Even now, Lu Ten saw the last of the grave-diggers straggle back to their own lines. Once they were hidden behind the earth-defences, the attacks would start.

It was time to get ready.

He took in a sharp breath. The dual broadswords he favoured stood in the corner of the metal defence, leaning against the cold walls. He grabbed them, slung them over his shoulder. "Do you still have those pills your mother sent?"

"Some." Hirota gave a grudging nod. In the game of life and death, every advantage was closely guarded. "You want some?"

The black-haired man held out his hand. "It's going to be a big one tonight."

Hirota grunted. "You say that every night." But he dug under his breast plate. He pulled out a small hemp sack, black ink markings on the front. Undoing the leather tongs that held it closed, he shook two green circles onto his dirt-ingrained palm.

"Every night has been." Lu Ten took the two pills. Throwing back his head, he swallowed them dry.

"Shouldn't take two."

"Says who?"

"The woman who made them, o glorious leader."

"Two are the only thing that works right now." He caught the look on his colonel's face. "What? Agni's balls of fire, Rota, I haven't slept more than two hours at a time for three weeks." He pulled the sword strap straight, shifting forward the crushing weight of his breast-plate. Satisfied, he marched towards the edge of the defence and dropped from the height to the duck-boards below. "You tell me half the regiment isn't on something similar and I'll laugh in your face."

"I'm just saying." Hirota tramped after his superior. The metal tips of their boot rang on the wooden boards that lined each temporary trench. "You'll get hooked. I've seen it before. Just saying."

"Say it somewhere else." The first soldiers on the battalion was coming up. Their corporal straightened, closed fist to his temple.

"Commander."

"Corporal Fung." The Prince paused, checked the spear held out for inspection. "Ready for tonight?"

A white grin poked out from the face that was a mess of lines and soot. "Ready to fry, sir."

Lu Ten exchanged a grin of his own. Neither grin reached their eyes. "Good man. Stand to."

"Yes, sir. Platoon Five! Stand to for the commander!"

The battered soldiers of Platoon Five climbed to their feet. Mud covered their boots to the knee. Lines hung heavy under their eyes. More than one uniform was modified, stuffed with fox antelope fur to keep out the damp and cold of a Ba Sing Se winter. They were the cream of the Fire Nation army, the front line troops in the Great Siege of Ba Sing Se. Right then, they had only one hope and he walked between them, nodding to the murmur of greetings that rippled in his wake.

"Commander."

"Commander."

"Sire."

"Commander."

"Platoon Four! Stand to for the commander!"

Eyes, ranging from yellow to dark brown, followed his progress. If the commander noticed, he took it with ease. Catching the eye of a private he remembered vaguely, he paused. "Keito." The name was said with a grin. Grabbing hold of the holding strap, he hauled himself up to the soldier's lookout ridge. He rapped his fist against the man's stomach-plate. "Nothing like Etarai, huh?"

The giant unbent from his stiff salute. "These City-soldiers don't know a good fight until they're in one, sire."

"Then we'll make sure to give them one." Lu Ten gave a final rap of the stomach-plate, nodded to the man next to Keito. He dropped down onto the marching boards again. The tension that thickened the trench air loosened. Grins flew easier.

"How did you know?" Hirota tramped at his commander's shoulder. He shot a suspicious glance to his superior. "That he fought in Etarai?"

"Look around you, Rota." Lu Ten kept the grim smile on his face as he marched past the salutes. His throat rasped from thirst. His head was starting to spin a little from the home-made pills but the dredging ache of tiredness had receded. "Every man here's fought at that southern cesspool." He inhaled the air, heavy with dust and the scent of rough-made latrines. A creeping pressure was started at the base of his skull. He shoved it down, kept his eyes front.

"They're my father's men."

"Your men now." The colonel muttered. His commander jerked an impatient shoulder in reply. He paused next to a hole in the ground. A jaunty sign, scratched on wood from spirits-knew-where, hung lopsided next to it: Officers' Mess.

Grabbing the support rope, the commander dropped down another level, into the metal dug-out. His feet thumped when they hit the carpeted floor; the first thing every unit did was make a rug for the metal defence shells. The metal rang so loud under regulation boots, it was like sending the enemy an invitation to rock-slide every ranking officer in the front-line when they gathered together to talk strategy.

The shell was packed with bodies and stank of dried blood and old sweat. Weary men, gold insignia on each arm shoulder, looked up at the new arrivals. A flurry of salutes went through the gathered officers like a wave.

"Commander Prince Lu Ten."

"Sire."

"Gentlemen." Lu Ten acknowledged them with a nod. "Ready for a little mud-slinging?"

A low chuckle warmed the formality and melted it. Shoulder plates clanked as men relaxed from the stiff military salute to their former ease. A grey-bearded Major stepped forward. His skull-faced helmet lay cradled in his arms. His own face looked scarcely better. He saluted one-handed, a closed fist to the temple. "We were discussing the eastern bastion, sire."

"Yes, what of it?" Tugging off his helmet, Lu Ten turned to the maps spread out on the rough table in front of him. Hirota pressed in on his right shoulder, shifting the markers out of the way. It seemed the officer had already been mid-way through their arguments. Scratches in black charcoal and tiny blocks littered the top map.

Lu Ten hunched his shoulders. The attention of the room burned into the back of his exposed neck. Forcing his mind away, he studied the topography their intelligence scouts recorded earlier that day.

"The Eastern Bastion is our weakest point. The Earth Benders mounted a counter-attack before we could finish the work."

"I remember. And we agreed that if the Earth Kingdom forces resume, we let it go."

"We did, sir." The Fire Bender glared at a shorter Colonel across the room. His voice hummed with temper, lava bubbling under the polite surface. "As I informed Colonel Daichi."

Lu Ten looked up. Colonel Daichi glowered like a squat coal at the elegant Fire Bender. "Colonel Daichi?"

"The Eastern Bastion commands the best view of the territory, sire. If we let it go, we risk losing the advantage we gained over the past week."

"It's a mud hut!" The Fire Bender's voice rose. "My men are weakened without the sun and you want us to mount a _suicide mission-_ "

"Agni help the poor Fire Benders. What of my men, left behind to defend it? Are they worth less than your _precious_ -"

"Silence!" Hirota slammed his fist against the metal wall. The thump shook the metal walls, rattling dust free to settle on the lamp flames with a dull hiss. "Do you dishonour yourself before your commander?"

The two officers turned, jerked from their spiralling quarrel.

Lu Ten turned. Slowly. He unhooked the dual-swords from his back, propped them up against the table leg. Then he leaned back against the table. Golden eyes, eerily reminiscent of his father, flickered between the two older men.

The blood in his head quickened and thumped. His throat rasped dry. He swallowed as best he could. They were waiting. For him.

Leaning back against the table, he folded his arms. "Major Liang, are you intending to press formal charges in protest at Colonel Daichi's orders?"

"S-sire…"

"Because if that is not the case, then I wonder why you question the orders of a superior officer. As you are aware, Major, that is insubordination."

The word dropped in the over-heated air like an ice-stone.

Every man was aware of the penalties for insubordination. In the battle-field, such a charge brought instant demotion at best, flogging or death at worst. In the tense atmosphere of the siege, where the slightest slip could lead to hundreds of men buried dead and alive under an Earth Bender rockslide, any disobedience was like courting Death itself. And it was punished accordingly.

"N-no, sire!" The Fire Bender flinched under the younger man's gaze.

Lu Ten studied him in silence, the same way he had seen his father do so many times. Only the Dragon of the West could take a man's soul with his gaze, make an ordinary man tremble with the leashed power and fire within. Lu Ten could only make a pale imitation. A shadow.

It had always been like that.

 _Weak. Nothing. No true son of Fire._

 _Stop. Not now._

Memories didn't help. Not right now. Not in a cramped bunker, six hundred yards from the Earth King's elite. Leave that to next week. When he and his men were in the reserve lines and he could drown the shadows in wine and fire whiskey.

Maybe he should stop taking those pills. It always got worse after the pills.

 _Better to hear voices than fall asleep on watch._

"Sire?"

The room was watching him. Major Liang looked like he wanted to wet himself. The death penalty did that to a man.

Lu Ten glanced out the bunker hole. The sky had gone blue-black. Sunset would be over in ten minutes, if not less. They had to move to get to their positions before the enemy began their firing.

"Thank your stars, Major Liang, that we're facing a major Earth Bender attack in the next few minutes. Or I would not be so lenient."

"Thank you, sir. I-"

"Colonel Itsuki, you will take _Lieutenant_ Liang into your company. Find him a platoon. You will be holding the western bastion tonight. Our plan is as discussed."

The Colonel touched his closed fist to his temple. A glimmer of respect shone under the metal ridge of his helmet. "Sire." His eyes slid sideways to Liang, pale and trembling under the shame of his punishment.

"Lieutenant, your case will come up for review once we return to the reserve lines. Until then, you serve under Colonel Itsuki. I trust you will not question his orders."

Lu Ten ignored the stammer of thanks. He dipped down and drew the sword-strap over his head once more. The weight settled across his shoulders, as familiar as his father's arm. "Colonel Daichi?"

"Sir!"

"The former Major was in some way correct, Colonel. Fire Benders are not defence troops. You would be well aware of that. On the other hand, you are correct that we need to revise our opinion of the Eastern Bastion."

Turning back to the map, Lu Ten traced a finger along the low ridge of land they hopefully called the 'Eastern Bastion'. Liang's description of a mud-hut was more accurate. A former overseer's cottage, it had one room and no roof. But in the flat plains of the Agrarian Zone, it was a height. That was valuable.

"Your men are camped on the height?" Without waiting for an answer, Lu Ten nodded. "Our intelligence scouts mentioned that the Earth King's men are below, and there are evidence of sappers."

"Yes, sire." Daichi stepped up to the table. A rough finger jabbed at the silk map. "Here. Here. And here. Small-scale mostly, probably scouting the lie of the land. But they've been active. You even see the dark-green rats in the day-light."

 _Dark-green_. Lu Ten stroked his chin, deep in thought. He'd learnt the habit from his father. _Dark green uniforms_. He'd always heard that Earth Kingdom sappers dressed in brown. The better to carry out their secretive work on the muddy ground. Was this a new regiment? A new trick for the Council of Five to throw at them?

He needed to bring this to his father. The Dragon had tens of military experts at his fingertips, scholars and soldiers who made a study of the Earth Kingdom military in all its forms and all its tactics. They would be certain what this new regiment could mean.

But first, he needed evidence.

"You'll have your reinforcements, Daichi. But no Fire Benders."

"Sire?" Daichi was stoic, less volatile than Itsuki or Liang. He took changes to his orders without flinching. Maybe it was because he was a non-Bender. _You should know, if that's the case._

"I'll join you in manning the defences. With luck, we'll push them back enough to give our builders some breathing space tomorrow." Lu Ten glanced over his shoulder. "Captain Naoki and Major Tadashi will hold in reserve to fill the gaps as needed. We hold the two bastions until our relief comes through. No matter what. Understood?"

There was a general murmur of agreement. With the orders agreed, a rush of relief set in amongst the commanders of the Eighth Battalion. Lu Ten felt it, like a bucket of cool water poured over his head. There was nothing a soldier hated more than uncertainty. Officer or private they were all the same, looking upwards to the senior officer for guidance.

Pity the senior officer, who hid his own doubts and sent men to their deaths.

Captain Naoki ruffled the short hairs at the base of his skull, letting air through the sweat-soaked strand. A sly grin crossed his face. He would have been handsome, but for the scar across his jaw that twisted his entire mouth sideways. A gift from an Earth Kingdom private six months ago.

He pursed his lips in a soft hum. "It's a long long way to Ba Sing Se. But the girls in the city…"

"…They look so pretty." The others finished the hum. A low chuckle passed among them. It was an old marching song the Fire Nation Propaganda Corp thought up at the start of the siege. Somehow, it stuck. The front-line troops had taken it up, singing it before they attacked to taunt the waiting Earth Kingdom men.

"They better be bloody gorgeous after all this." Colonel Itsuki grumbled aloud as he slid on the skull-faced helmet. Nodding to Liang, he saluted Lu Ten once more. "We'll be watching, sire."

Lu Ten nodded in silence. Itsuki grabbed the strap of the ladder. With a grunt, he hauled himself out of the bunker. Lu Ten could hear him bellow orders, even before his feet were fully out of the hole.

"Never stops." Captain Naoki threw a glance up the ladder. He shook his head. "Sire, I know you want my men in reserve but-"

"I want you in reserve because you'll be on the front lines tomorrow." Lu Ten interrupted the other man quickly. He had no desire to visit the same punishment on Naoki, a competent and skilled commander, as on Liang. "Grab as much sleep as you can. We're being relieved in two days. That's still two days away."

"But you're -"

Lu Ten levelled a hard look at the scarred captain. "I'm your commanding officer, Naoki. Right here, I'm _only_ your commanding officer."

The captain folded his lips tight over whatever response he had been thinking. He raised a fist in salute. "Hope to see you in the reserve lines, sire."

"You still owe me a drink from last time."

The scar twisted up in a sickening grin. "I'll make it two, just to celebrate getting out of this dung-hole."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I'll join you." Hirota followed Naoki up the ladder, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. He never trusted the charming captain of Fire Benders, despite his superior's friendship with the man. He threw Lu Ten a quick salute. "Sire."

"Hirota."

Major Tadashi followed Hirota, the flimsy ladder sagging under his weight and his armour.

"Sire." Colonel Daichi stood to attention. They were the last two left in the bunker. Outside, the sky was full black. "Sire, if I may -"

Lu Ten held up his hand. In the distance, he could hear something. A stillness, the night-air too quiet. After a year of missiles and night attacks, a man grew used to sensing in the dark, feeling the ripples in the atmosphere.

A faint whine snaked through the silence. It sent shivers down the spine, made the head spin. It increased to a shriek, an air spirit howling through the sky. Feet hammered above their heads. Frantic whispers hissed, torches flared to light. A lieutenant's boyish voice cracked over the bustle. "Take cover, men! Take -"

"Get down!"

It was instinct. Not thought. Lu Ten flung himself at the older officer. Daichi tumbled from his feet. The breath crushed from his chest in hard rush. "What the-"

 _Whooomp!_

The walls shook. The floor shook. The earth itself shook and spirits above, Lu Ten half expected the roof of the bunker to cave in on top of him. His head rang with the after-impact. He blinked. Blinked again. It took three blinks before the world stood still on its axis.

Daichi, shaken and dust-covered, lay on the floor. His helmet sat askew, above bewildered yellow eyes. "My Prince… I..?"

"Sire!" The same boyish voice, high with fear. Lu Ten spun back. The lieutenant, half his uniform smeared in mud, stared into the dark pit. "Sire, are you hurt?"

"No." _I hope not._ Lu Ten scrambled to his feet. "Colonel Daichi and I were just leaving. See the lamps are put out. We don't want to fire our own lines." Then, because the boy was probably only six weeks out of training college and still white as shaken milk, Lu Ten summoned a grim smile. "Good job, Lieutenant."

"Sire!" A quick salute. The boy jerked to the side, making way for a burly private to clear the lamps of the miss. He turned back. "Thank you, sire!"

The look in his eyes was still pure adoration and fealty. Lu Ten had seen that before. New recruits, buoyed on the idea of service to the Fire Lord, thrilled to serve with the Fire Lord's own grandson.

He'd learn. Fast. Or he would die.

"Daichi!" Now was no time for formalities. Lu Ten held out a hand. The colonel grasped it, pulling himself to his feet. "How far to your lines?"

The shock of the missile had worn off. Daichi was a soldier again, the hard-bitten veteran of ten campaigns. He shook his head. "Twenty minutes, at a jog."

Lu Ten stilled. Another faint shriek gathered pace in the distance. Soon, the Earth Kingdom would send in their troops.

Their time was running out.

He grabbed the ladder, hauled himself up the first step. Two days to go.

"Let's make it in ten."

* * *

 **Hello! I've been posting and reposting this story on and off for some time and I'm just making another stab at it.**

 **It was inspired by a lot of things but also from the great Lu Ten/Siege of Ba Sing Se stories that are out on - especially _zorroami'_ s brilliant _600 days -_ check it out. **

**Hope you enjoy this! Please review and let me know what you think of my battlefield setting - I've never written one like that before, so feedback is appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Thousand Silver Scars**

* * *

 _Day 595 of the Great Siege_

 _General Headquarters, Fire Nation Army_

 _Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se_

* * *

"Clear the way! Army transport coming through!"

The modified truck heaved through the press of fresh troops. The komodo rhinos strained against their ties. The whip lashed against their horned heads, the driver cursing as his transport caught on another pothole. In the trailer behind, the battle-weary men of Company One, Fifth Battalion gritted their teeth and clung to the sides of the truck like limpets.

"Get off the flaming road!"

Grumbling, the reserves shuffled to the side of the pit-marked path. Ankle-deep in sludge, they glared at the Army Transport Service truck rolling past. It would be another four or five weeks before they could turn their faces towards the Outer Wall and comfort again. Some never would.

Lu Ten gritted his teeth. His fingers bit into the leather support strap that hung from the curved frame of the trailer. A lucky blow from an Earth Kingdom hook sword had caught him on the exposed slit along his ribs, cutting into the skin and glancing off the bone. Their medic had done his best but his supplies of pain killers had run low days before. Only the worst-injured men received some of the precious opium and that was more to ease their passage to the Spirit World than to dull the effect of their wounds.

Lu Ten took his stitches and bandages dulled only by the moonshine Platoon Four's sergeant brewed from left-over rice meals. In the two days after, he relied on Hirota's green pills. His head spun like a child's toy but it smothered the pain enough to keep fighting.

He hadn't taken one of the pills since dawn. It was noon now. They'd been in transit for seven hours. A mishap with the Engineering Corps the week before had led to a minor rock fall at the Outer Wall. Transports were blocked from entering the war zone, leaving the Fifth Battalion to make the trip from front lines to the signal trenches at the rear on foot. Rhinos had been commandeered from the cavalry to act as pack-animals but priority was given to supplying the men who were headed to the front lines. Those men who were retreating to the reserves for a week's rest and relaxation were left to transport themselves. And be quick about it.

It had taken an hour to organise stretcher-carriers for the worst wounded. Another hour to divide up the weapons and armour of the stretcher-carriers amongst the remaining soldiers. By the time the Fifth Battalion reached the signal trenches, the sun was inching to its zenith and Lu Ten's stitches had started bleeding again. Hunger gnawed at his stomach and the pressure of his shoulder guards sent a shooting arc of pain up his spine to the base of his skull, blossoming into a migraine.

When Naoki started singing, Lu Ten was ready to commit murder.

The quartermaster, stationed at the checkpoint to oversee the transfer of goods from trailers to pack-animals, had not been pleased to see an exhausted horde of soldiers trickle in to his post. He marched over, his swagger stick smacking against the open palm of his hand. "What's all this? What in the flaming hells are you doing here?"

Lu Ten swallowed down his own temper. It was a fireball in his throat. "Fifth Battalion." He answered curtly. "Week's leave in the reserves. We need your trucks. We have wounded men to transport."

"Papers."

Papers? Since when had men needed papers to pass the checkpoint? "What flaming papers?"

The quartermaster narrowed his eyes. "The Fifth was meant to pass the checkpoint an hour past dawn this morning. No one showed. It's now an hour before noon. My orders are to check the papers of any unauthorised personnel trying to pass to Main Camp. If you really are the Fifth, _sir_ ," He sneered the word, with a scornful glance at the mud-spattered armour and dishevelled top-knot. "You'll have papers with orders to that effect."

Hirota stomped up beside Lu Ten. His own armour was little better. A stray Terra Team Boulder had taken off his shoulder guard and dislocated his shoulder. He had been assigned to carry supplies with his one good hand.

He dumped the bundle of short-spears at his feet and frowned at Lu Ten. "What's the problem?"

"This…" _Cretin. Pile of rhino dung._ "Man refuses to let us through without papers."

"What papers?"

"You remember, Hirota." Lu Ten drawled. "The ones we had last week. In the dug-out. Before the Earth Kingdom dumped a boulder on it and killed two of our corporals."

The quartermaster flushed. "I didn't ask for your spirits cursed war stories, _officer_. No papers, no pass. Dragon's orders."

"Really."

It took, Lu Ten estimated, seven seconds to reach for the dual swords slung across his back and pull them from their leather sheath. One second for the razor-sharp blades to slice through the air and snick the cretin's head from his shoulders. It was that easy. One cut and his men were through. One cut. One man.

That the thought crossed his mind, that he paused and dwelled on it as though it were rational…

"Listen." Hirota was trying to reason. "The relief didn't appear until an hour past dawn anyway. We'd no transport and over a hundred men on stretchers to carry."

"Not my problem." The stick smacked once more. "No papers, no pass."

There was a crowd gathering now. Labourers, conscripts and non-combatants mostly, paused in their work to stare and stretch their backs. Idling sentries passed copper coins between them, placing their bets. On a dull day, in the middle of an endless siege, a man grasped what little entertainment he could.

His own men were tired. Six hours of leave had been stolen from them. Six hours where they could eat food that wasn't rancid or mixed with mud. Soak in hot tubs, lose every copper flame of their hard earned pay in games of chance or the oblivion of the army brothels. Wear clean clothes, put on warm socks to shut out the cloying damp of an Earth Kingdom spring. Lie back on clean sheets and dream of heat and spice and home.

 _Sleep_.

Spirits, he needed sleep.

And with that thought, Lu Ten snapped.

The quartermaster only had time to squawk before his collar was seized. The stick bounced to the side. It cracked against a heap of rubble and broke.

"Now, listen to me."

"The _hells_ you…"

"Listen to me. Don't speak."

Lu Ten took his time to pause. A flicker to the side covered the other sentries, the labourers. Nobody had moved. The betting stopped.

"These men have spent the last four weeks up to their necks in mud and boulders. They haven't slept. They've had Terra team, green-backs, rock-men, everything the Earth King has, thrown at their heads. Half of them need a medic and the rest need food and clean uniforms."

"N-"

The collar dragged tighter. Lu Ten fixed on the sickly face in front of him. Sparks of white made sun-blasts of pain in his eyes.

"Now, you're going to get every man here through this checkpoint and _personally_ escort us to our truck transport back to main camp. And you're going to salute every _flaming_ one of them."

"But-"

Lu Ten shoved his face closer, forcing the man to writhe back. He saw the man's face crease and recoil. The stink of sweat and unwashed skin smacked against his nose.

"One more word about orders, quartermaster, and I'll see that you're transferred out of Army Supply on a hot ticket to the front lines before you can turn around and shit."

His grip loosened. He shoved the man back. The force made him sway, just a little. Too little to be seen. But for the benefit of his men, Lu Ten gave the pen-pushing bureaucrat a grin.

A fist punched the quartermaster's shaking palm. He bowed. "S-s-sir!"

He ran to the barrier. Orders bellowed in the noon mist. Labourers were cursed awake. The sentries pulled up to attention. All bets were off and the transport trucks were bellowed into line, ready to receive their return burden of human bodies.

Hirota slid a glance sideways. His lips twitched.

"Not regulation procedure, Commander."

"Agni's fireballs, Rota." Lu Ten rolled his shoulders loose. "Nearly six hundred days siege and you still can't throw away the rule book."

An hour later, Lu Ten grinned at the memory, even through the pain. Hirota looked up from his seat opposite. He shook his head as if he could read his superior's mind.

"Still not regulation procedure."

Another pothole flung every man in the trailer about. A stray elbow caught Lu Ten on his stitches. He swore. Hirota laughed like a drain.

"Your mother have pills to cure your honking?"

"My mother thinks I'm adorable."

"Only one who does then."

The road widened slowly as they drew away from the shadow of the Outer wall. Closer to the main camp, the surface smoothed. Careful engineering drained away most of the run-off from the spring rains. The first buildings appeared. Rough, wooden sheds mostly. Quick to assemble, easy to destroy when the General wanted to be on the move. They were built to withstand the worst of an Earth Kingdom winter, the dampness chased away by carefully placed braziers along the outer walls. From a pole looming beside them, a red flame pennant whipped in the breeze. Beneath, a white square fluttered out. Field hospital.

The first lot of trucks already pulled to a halt in front of the open doors. Medics, in combat reds with white arm bands to mark them out, rushed from the buildings. Bellows began immediately, shouts for water and clean bandages. Convalescents helped the orderlies bring the stretchers in from the cold air. Their clean bandages along face and limbs blazed a stark white against grey and red rest gear.

"Sorry, sir. Coming through."

The private next to Lu Ten started to clamber down from the trailer. He moved with a limp. His hand hovered over the rust-crusted bandage knotted half-way up his thigh. He hesitated at the edge. Lu Ten gripped his arm. The man blinked then nodded in thanks as he used the hand to lever himself down from the edge.

"Thank you, sir."

"Private. Colonel Hirota." His second-in-command lifted his head from probing at his own wound. Lu Ten jerked his chin in the direction of the hospitals. "Get that arm seen."

"I'm fine, Commander. Just need a few hours -"

"Get off this truck, Rota."

The colonel had a scowl like an ostrich-mule. But even he didn't disobey a superior officer. Slowly, gripping the side with his good hand, he swung down from the transport. Standing on the ground, he narrowed his eyes up at Lu Ten.

"I'll want a nice tent. Big. With a bed. Nothing on the spirits cursed ground."

"Who are you, the Fire Lord?"

"A nice tent. Quiet. Comfy. Or I'm taking yours… Sir."

Lu Ten laughed. The effort made his chest ache. "Fight you for it."

"Yeah, we both know how that will work out." Hirota smacked his good hand against the truck. "See you at mess at six. Maybe you can bring over some of that fancy food they serve in the Upper Ring."

"Have you seen the way my father eats?" The truck lurched forward. The last of the wounded were out. The walkers crouched by the hospital doors, waiting their turn to be seen. A stray firestick, cadged from one of the orderlies, passed about the ring. A ring of smoke turned the sunken eyes red.

Hirota caught the scent. His good hand patted the front of his uniform, searching out his own pack. "Come on, Fire Prince. Throw some Royal weight around. Get us a roast turtle-duck. With stuffing."

"You hate duck."

"Sure, but have you seen what the alternative is? Rice and…"

"Beans."

The truck trundled past the first mess hall tent, the one assigned to convalescents. A sign, scrawled on thin wood hung outside the door. The classic menu.

Rice and beans. Beans and rice. Beans or rice.

The stink was filling with a faint undertone of grease. In the shadows under the tent flaps, an overstuffed apron coughed over the tin tub he was stirring. Beside him, a one-armed man chopped vegetables.

Welcome to the home from home.

Most of the Fire Nation Main camp was made of up tents. The snap of canvas tapped a constant beat under the clatter of iron and shouts of passing soldiers. Near the field hospital were the first tents. Standard regulation issue, long boxes of white canvas imported from the Western Colonies. Most of these were given to the privates and lower non-commissioned officers. Six men to a tent. Beds were mats on the ground with regulation blankets and there was one regulation latrine pot per tent. It was a running joke in the Fire Nation Army that the "Lower Ring" was the cesspit of the entire Army.

The Dragon's men had besieged the Earth Kingdom capital for so long, it had soaked into their brains. This first set of tents, the largest spread of privates and NCOs, was the Lower Ring.

The second set, smaller in scale and closer to the hub of the Main Camp was the "Middle Ring". Officers lodged there. Every officer, from the lowest lieutenant to Colonel. The ratio of men to tents was strictly regulated. Court martials had been conducted over lodging a colonel with a lowly captain or trying to stuff more than three lieutenants into one tent.

In the centre of the Middle Ring was the "University". Despite the lofty name, Lu Ten doubted any academic would recognise the place if he stepped in there. This was the centre of everything in the Main camp and it resembled a small town in itself. The rows of tents and shacks made streets and back alleys, only just wide enough for Military Police to pass through two-by-two. The bath houses stood in front, segregated for officers and infantry. In the shadows behind, other businesses - bars and brothels - made a brisk trade on the returning soldiers.

"Clear the flaming square, mud-arse!"

A farmer in faded green cursed the driver back. His wife and daughters scrambled to clear their produce from the truck's path. Their eyes stayed firmly on the ground. They didn't once look up to the men lining the back of the transport truck. On their arms, the red band signalled that they were safe.

Army procedure dictated there should be no fraternisation between Fire Nation personnel and the conquered people. In reality, General Iroh permitted local traders and farmers to enter the confines of the main camp to sell their goods and extra food to the soldiers. Provided their background checked out and they had no extremist leanings, they were issued entry permits and red bands of authorisation. It was a situation that suited everyone. The soldiers had fresh food. The farmer sold his goods before they rotted. The number of morale issues dropped like a stone.

It also reduced the number of smugglers trying to sneak food into the Lower City. Why risk life and limb when the Fire Nation paid silver coins up front? With less food going in to the city, the General was counting on popular unrest delivering him victory faster than any military push in the Agrarian Zone.

Lu Ten craned his neck around the humps of Komodo rhinos. Other traders were packing up or shifting to a new spot in the face of the oncoming trucks. Sullen green eyes stared at the passing wheels. A private on the truck leaned over and spat. The gob of spittle landed next to one colonist's bare foot. She didn't react.

A passing military police shot the private a glare. He shrugged.

"All out!"

With a groan, the remaining men began to struggle from the trailer. Mud splashed up against their legs as they landed on the ground. Dazed eyes blinked around, like turtle-duck chicks searching for their mother.

"Not you, Commander."

Lu Ten paused. "What?"

The driver craned around the hump of the trailer. A clenched fist raised to his temple. "Dragon's orders, sire. Drop you at your tent, quick march. Don't let you wander off. That's what he said, sire."

"Ah." Lu Ten settled back against the hard bench and gritted his teeth for more bumping. "Any idea why?"

His father always wanted to see him after a tour. Usually, Lu Ten ate his first meal in Iroh's tent while his father watched, pressing more rice or fresh tea on top of him like he was a famine survivor. But the tenor of the orders suggested something else. News from home? Fresh orders?

Spirits, he was never going to be sent back? Was he? His stomach twisted.

"No, sir. But heard there's some people over. Big sparks. The Dragon's been avoiding them all week."

"Yeah." Lu Ten knocked his head back against the wooden board. He braced against the leather strap and tensed against the pull of the truck. "That sounds like him all right."

The tents became fewer once they left the University. Bigger. More space between the canvas walls. Few transport trucks ever came this far. The higher-officers had other, more congenial means of transport at their disposal. Braziers sent out the tang of smoke, carefully tended by military servants. Somewhere, on a private stove, meat sizzled. Lu Ten caught the scent of spice heating the damp breeze. The meals of the generals were nominally the same as their men. More than one general, however, had the means - financial or otherwise - to add luxuries to their rations. Chillies, for one.

Lu Ten's stomach snarled.

Passing officers threw curious looks at the mud-spattered transport and the single man inside. In pressed dress uniforms, their medals of combat glittering in the weak sunlight, they were a thousand miles from the shambles of an officer sprawled on top the rough wooden benches. The consternation increased as the truck drew to a stop outsider large white tent. A gold flame gleamed on the door curtain.

Lu Ten dragged himself to his feet. Using the leather strap as a lever, he dropped to the ground without a stumble. He thumped the metal trailer twice. "Thanks."

"Sir." The driver knuckled his forehead again. The whip cracked in the air. Lu Ten stood a moment as the transport moved away, negotiating the twists of the Upper Ring with studied care for the guy lines of the generals' tents. Then, ignoring the whispers and stares down the line of tents, he turned away and ducked into the shaded dimness of his own tent.

The inside of the tent was simple. The camp bed, propped on metal stands, dominated the limited space. Wall hangings, embroidered with the three-tongued flame of the Fire Nation hung against each wall. For privacy's sake, a silk screen stood in the corner of the tent, next to a glowing brazier. The brazier coals were lit, dispelling some of the dampness that hung outside.

In the Fire Nation Palace, it wouldn't be good enough for a footman. In the shadow of the Outer Wall, it looked like heaven.

His shoulder guards hit the ground with a clunk. His breast plate followed in a metal shower. The iron helmet bounced once and Lu Ten collapsed on the clean sheets. Clean sheets, smelling of soap and nothing else and giving under his weight with the soft embrace of an ostrich-feather stuffed mattress. The Prince of the Fire Nation, third most powerful man in the world, dropped his armoured wrist across his eyes and let out a long, low moan.

"So. You're back."

Another moan. _Dear spirits, no. Five more minutes. Just five to savour the feeling of a lovely, clean, soft bed…_

"Green-backs must be getting soft if they let you go."

The wrist dropped. A baleful golden eye slid sideways. "Don't you have someone else to annoy? My father, for instance?"

Goro folded his tree-trunk arms. The hard glare would and had sent many a private soldier running for his boot-polish. To the man he'd helped to raise from a baby in arms, it only provoked a sly grin.

Goro's own lips twitched in return. The weakness made him scowl harder. "You're late."

"Transport problems."

Goro grunted. "Any nicks?"

"Some." Lu Ten struggled to sit up. The movement sent a tug at his stitches. He winced and slipped his hand under his over-tunic. A dampness stained his fingertips and the bumps stung.

Goro's battle-tired eyes caught the wince and the movement. He nodded. "Medic'll fix you up later. Get up."

"Get up? I haven't had a bed in three weeks. Burn me, Goro."

"I changed those sheets yesterday. Damned if I'm doing it again because your filthy ass won't move. Besides, the Dragon wants to see you."

Lu Ten got up. Not because he was ordered. But he wanted to sleep on clean sheets tonight and he knew Goro of old. He raised his eyebrows, still rubbing the stinging bandage across his chest. "What's the hurry? Dad's going to be buried under orders until sun-down anyway."

"Not today." Goro started picking up the armour from the floor. The heavy metal balanced in his hands like it was made of air and clouds. "Big news from back home. The Dragon wants you there. Clean. Looking like a Prince. His words."

He jerked his chin to the silk screen. "Bath's there."

"What's going on?" Lu Ten tugged the red band from his hair. The black hair fell in a shaggy mop about his face. Without ceremony, he started to strip off. The tunic fell to the ground in a soft clump. With only a slight wince, he bent to unwind his puttees from around his shins. "Is it the Fire Lord? Ozai?"

Goro gave him a hard look. The look that said: _Don't know. Won't ask._

Lu Ten finished one leg and started the other. "Ozai's not trying to come out here again, is he?"

"Like the Dragon would let him." Goro took the red strips. "We want to win this siege, remember."

The Prince grunted in agreement. There was a reason his uncle had never had another military command after the debacle at the Battle of Kuyin. He tugged off his breeches and shivered. Even the heat blazing from the brazier wasn't enough to chase the chill from the spring air. He marched over to the screen, without shame for the critical glare of his father's batsmen. He dunked into the tub of water hidden behind the painted panels.

"Dragon flames!"

"Would have been warm if you'd been here on time."

Lu Ten gritted his teeth. He sloshed the cold water over his shoulders in efficient waves. "We have an entire camp full of flaming Fire Benders. You couldn't spare one to…"

"Heat the pwecious pwince's bath water?" A bark of laughter. "Inappropriate use of scarce resources."

Lu Ten took a deep breath. He dunked his head under the chilled water as long as he could stand. Then he broke the surface again with a gasp for air. The water splashed on either side of metal tub.

A large white towel flicked over the screen.

"Stop basking. You're not off duty yet. Dragon's waiting."

Lu Ten spat a curse in the batman's direction. Another laugh was his only answer.

With a sigh for his dream of a week's relaxation, the Commander Prince heaved himself to his feet and grabbed the rough linen. It was time to see what his father wanted from him this time.

* * *

 **Thank you for all the follows! I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy this next instalment. Let me know what you think - I'd really appreciate feedback, particularly on the setting for the siege.**

 **Flameo, hot man. ㈶0**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Thousand Silver Scars**

* * *

 _General Prince Iroh's headquarters_

 _Fire Nation Army Main Camp_

* * *

Lu Ten stood outside the entrance of his father's tent. He swallowed.

Hard.

In front of him, the same three-tongued gold flame as on his own tent door glittered in the sunshine. Two Imperial Firebenders stood stoic at either corner of the tent. Their face guards hid any expression. Lu Ten could only guess what they thought of him.

Inside the tent, the Commander could hear voices. They rose and fell in a low rumble. His father's voice, hoarse and throaty was lower than the rest. It should have been smothered over by the chatter but instead it rode over the other generals. Like the roar of the Dragon he was. It commanded respect and Lu Ten was not surprised to hear the other voices fade away in deference. It had always been like that. General Prince Iroh was born to be Fire Lord and sit behind the wall of flames.

Lu Ten shifted his shoulders under the heavy plate. His dress armour was more ornate than the leather-covered iron he wore at the front lines. Curlicues and gold engravings added to the weight that made it a chore to wear for more than a few hours at a stretch. But it was better to wear it for now. It was good to remind the other Generals who he was. It tended to cut short the awkward questions, at least for the first few hours.

Spirits, but he wished he had his swords. He didn't need to hold them. Just the weight on his back and shoulder was enough. But not even the Imperial Firebenders were permitted to carry weapons in the presence of the Royal Family. So he had left them behind in his tent. They were like Hirota's green pills and the burn scars on his hands. Just another thing his father didn't need to know.

It was easier to be a good officer, Lu Ten had learnt, than an honest son.

He squared his shoulders and pushed the cloth door aside.

General Iroh's tent was crowded. Twice the floor space of any other officer's, it was as comfortable as any field accommodation could be. Large wall hangings of red flames on black silk kept out any spring draught. A secretary knelt by a low slung desk, his spectacles pushed up along his nose. Black ink left indecipherable squiggles on the parchment as he recorded every word in the meeting. Later, the minutes would be written up properly, reviewed by the General and a summary sent on official dispatch to the Fire Lord.

In the corner of the room, a cluster of Generals and senior officers bumped shoulder guards around a parchment map of the Agrarian Zone. Their voices were low, murmuring questions and suggestions. Lu Ten recognised most of them. The Fire Lord permitted only the best of generals to serve under his eldest son at the Great Siege, men with a proven record of success. Their names rang in the military records: Rong, Daiki, Madoka. If anyone could be trusted to break through the walls of the Eternal City, these men could.

"If we concentrate our forces as a point in the Agrarian Zone and send Admiral…"

At the sound of the door-curtain, the generals looked up. Madoka, the speaker, let his face dip to a frown, so brief it was nearly unnoticeable. Then, like the others, his face smoothed out into a nod of welcome. Lu Ten nodded in return. But his attention was not on the sneers or smiles of the generals.

The man at the centre of the group was not the tallest of the men at the circle. Even standing on his toes, his top knot would not brush Lu Ten's chin. In his red cotton tunic and soft breeches, there was nothing to distinguish him from the other men around him. But as General Prince Iroh turned to greet the new arrival, the Commander was conscious of a tightening of his stomach, a burst of fresh energy to straighten and draw back tired shoulders to a soldier's salute. It made his father proud to see his son step into his position as Commander.

If there was one thing in his life that Lu Ten wanted above anything else, even above victory in the Great War, it was to make his father proud of him.

"General Crown Prince Iroh. Sir."

No simple fist to the temple for the General. Lu Ten fisted his right hand against his flat left-hand palm in the formal bow.

"Commander Prince Lu Ten." The words were formal but warmth curled through General Iroh's voice like steam from a dragon's fire. "You are late."

"My apologies, sire."

"Gentlemen, you know the Commander. Minister Qin."

A murmur of polite words. Meaningless but acceptable. Lu Ten straightened and scanned the faces once more before latching on to the one civilian who stood out like a stork amongst armadillo-pigs. "Minister Qin."

The stork bowed, his silk robes sweeping the carpeted ground. "Your highness."

Before the sneers of derision became too obvious, General Iroh intervened gently. "In the field, Minister, we prefer to be addressed by military title."

Involuntarily, Qin's eyes drew a line between the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and General Rong at the rear of the of the tent. Rong was famous - or infamous - from being the man General Iroh had raised from the ranks when the Prince was only a young officer in the Plains. Being a true courtier, it was only a momentary lapse before Qin bowed once again. "My apologies, General."

Iroh made a dismissive gesture. "Minister Qin visits us from the Ministry of Information." His voice held a note of warning.

Ah. Propaganda. The heaviness on Lu Ten's shoulders returned with a vengeance.

"The Fire Lord has sent me as head of a small delegation to report on the General's success." Qin confirmed with a smile.

Lu Ten met his father's gaze. The small grimace confirmed what he already knew. It was a recruitment drive.

The Fire Nation Army had always operated on a volunteer basis. This was a point of pride in military circles. The Fire Nation Army fought for the love of their nation and their Fire Lord. They did not need to bolster their forces with unwilling conscripts and pressgangs in the Earth Kingdom style.

At least, not yet.

For the first few months of the Siege, optimism had been high. Many believed that General Prince Iroh, the finest military commander in the Fire Nation army since the career of his own father Azulon, would do the impossible: crush the walls of the Impenetrable City and bring the decadent, corrupt Earth Kingdom government to its knees.

Recruits, both officers and privates, had flowed to the city walls, so much that Lu Ten remembered one general's remark that there must scarcely be an able bodied soldier left back home. The destruction of the Outer Wall, after a three-day battle that left broken ribs of the battlements smoking and rust-coloured with blood, led to another surge in volunteers, eager to play their part in bringing the Long War to a close.

That was then.

Six months later and the Fire Nation was still miles from the Inner Wall. Bogged down in trenches and inch-by-inch assaults in the Agrarian Zone, the Generals worried more now about desertion and morale than excessive recruitment. The last batch of recruits, sent out in the fervour of the first assault on the Zone, had been only half-trained and unprepared for the harsh reality of life in a siege ground.

Word filtered back home of men drowning in mud, suffocating to death in dugouts for the sake of a few feet of ground. An officer, released home to 'rest his mind' had smuggled back a true list of the casualties, exposing it to a local newspaper.

He had been arrested and the newspaper shut down. Still, the damage was done. The Ministry of War sent reports of dwindling numbers of volunteers. Those who did volunteer often requested to be posted elsewhere: in the domestic forces, the Plains, even guard duty at the Boiling Rock. Anywhere, but the blood-bath that was the Siege of Ba Sing Se.

Last time he had returned to Main Camp, Lu Ten heard some of the generals muttering about extending the time the men spent at the front lines. Too few fresh recruits coming to Ba Sing Se meant those already under the walls were pushed to their limits. More than once in the past weeks, Lu Ten had come across soldiers living a double shift at the front. They were the unlucky ones, their names picked at random from a regiment-wide barrel.

In reality, those chosen were worse than useless. Too exhausted to do much more than stand in place, they were the ones who fell first, whether to the boulders hurled into the trenches by Terra Teams and Earthbenders or to the demons that waited in the shadows to consume a man's sanity and send him into a cowering wreck. Once that happened, such men were fit only to be shipped to the respite hospitals in the colony towns.

The Fire Lord could not permit his glorious enterprise, the crowning achievement of his reign, to dwindle into ignominy. Hence, Minister Qin's 'visit'.

"I trust your visit will prove useful, Minister."

"The… General has been most accommodating, Commander." Qin bowed his head. "And most welcoming."

"The Minister and his party has traveled from the Royal City to join us."

"A long way to journey, Minister. You are a large party?"

 _Gods, I hope not._ Lu Ten wished fervently. The larger the party, the greater scrutiny turned on their campaign.

"Just myself and my secretary. My niece, Mizuki of the House Fan, also accompanies me."

Lu Ten could swear he saw flames light up in his father's eyes. "Your niece, you say?"

"Yes, General. She graduated from the Royal Fire Academy two years ago. She has been volunteering for her nation at the Ministry since last winter."

"Then she must be no more than twenty years -"

"General Iroh!"

Lu Ten cleared his throat. He didn't need to turn around to see the smirks the Generals of his father's staff tried not so very hard to hide. The Crown Prince's efforts to find a bride for his reluctant son were fast becoming legend amongst the men of the Main Camp.

"General Iroh, sir. Perhaps we should return to meeting at hand?"

"The Commander may wish to give us base-men a flash of front-line insight?"

Just the right note of disdain and politeness scoured General Madoka's enquiry. The greying General was another who had matched his career to the Crown Prince. Unlike Iroh, however, his record was scarred with one or two embarrassing defeats. The cause was never officially discussed but rumours swirling around the Fire Nation Military Training Academy suggested that Madoka preferred to push his men rather than lead them.

The heavy plate armour pressed painfully against the stitches on Lu Ten's ribs as he turned. It was a battle to keep his expression blank as he nodded politely to the superior officer. "I would not presume to instruct any man better informed than myself, General."

Anger sparked in Madoka's eyes. His long moustache pulled in tight around his mouth. Before he spoke again, Rong intervened.

"If I may suggest, General, that we bring this meeting to a close?" He nodded towards the outside of the tent. In the slit in the cloth, the lowering sky was clearly visible. The last rays of daylight glimmered over the Outer Wall and the spring air had chilled to a biting breeze. Soon, the men would gather in long lines in the mess hall for their evening meal before being released from duty for another day.

"Yes." Iroh was not slow to pick up on the tension that had entered the room in his son's shadow. "An excellent idea, General Rong. We shall all be better, I think, with some food and rest." He nodded his head to the Generals. "We shall reconvene in the morning."

The other men bowed in return. With careful dignity, they left the tent. The secretary jumped from his careful crouch by the door. He sprinkled a little sand on his notes, to dry the ink then bowed to Iroh, the record of the meeting outstretched in his flat palms.

The General accepted the notes without a glance to their contents. "My thanks, Corporal Zeshin. You have worked well today."

The Corporal's ears scorched as red as his tunic. He crouched lower, his head almost reaching his knees. "G-general." He rose from the bow and almost ran from the tent.

"The General is generous with his praise." Minister Qin folded his hands inside his robe. His umber eyes observed the shorter man with a long, assessing look. It reminded Lu Ten of a money lender weighing up his rows of coin. "Some in the Ministry advocate a more, ah, rigorous approach to dealing with the common soldier."

"The common soldier is the reason that this siege continues, Minister Qin." The paternal, smiling officer of moment before was replaced. In his stead, the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation stood at ease. His urbane smile was as calculated as the one worn by the man opposite. "Without his effort, the Earth King's forces could overrun us in a day. Praise will never come high enough for him."

"The General is very wise." Qin bowed gracefully to acknowledge the hit. "If you will excuse me, I will also retire for a while."

"Of course." Iroh made a gesture of dismissal. "I would not detain you from your party. Perhaps the Minister will be kind enough to honour my son and I later this evening?"

It would be too obvious to raise his eyebrows at his father's invitation. Still more obvious to exchange a glance with him. To say Lu Ten was surprised at Iroh's desire for Minister Qin's company was an understatement. Had the recruitment problem truly gone so bad?

Or were there other, underlying, reasons for the civility? What news had blown on the wind from the Royal Court? Politics in the Fire Nation was a snake-pit of warring factions, each one backed by one or more of the powerful noble families. The ultimate goal was always the Fire Lord's favour for therein lay the power to influence policy and finance - even the outcome of the Great War itself. But along that road were a thousand lesser prizes: positions in Ministries, sinecures in the provinces. A series of new appointments could indicate the rise of a new faction in ladder of power. Lu Ten recalled that Qin had only been installed in his post in the last six months or so.

"The honour would be mine, General." Qin seemed to be as taken aback by the General's invitation as Lu Ten.

"Not at all." The courtier's smile was still there, gently curving the General's lips. "Your party as well, of course. Your niece. My son and I," He clapped his hand to Lu Ten's shoulder. "We have been stationed in the Earth Kingdom so long, some civilised conversation would be a gift. Particularly with such charming company."

It seemed the General had more than politics on his mind. Would it be insubordination, Lu Ten wondered, if he strangled his father before the wily old dragon had him quick-marched up the wedding aisle?

"Certainly, Mizuki would be delighted to make your acquaintance, General. And the Commander as well."

It was a testament to twenty years of rigorous etiquette training that Lu Ten was able to summon up a credible smile in that moment. "I can only hope our soldier's conversation will not disappoint Lady Mizuki."

"My niece is remarkably adaptable, Commander." Qin bowed low, letting his words linger on the air. He backed away from the two men, the curtain falling back on his unnaturally long shadow.

It took a moment for Lu Ten to pick his jaw up from its bemused drop. He turned to his father and met the grinning General with his best attempt at a glare. "You're incorrigible."

Iroh opened his eyes wide. He dropped the scrolls on a nearby cabinet. "A fine young woman, well-born, well-educated, beautiful…"

"I haven't even seen her and you're already signing the betrothal papers!"

"Thank Agni I am, or you would die a decrepit old bachelor!" Iroh ran his thumbs along the sash of his tunic, loosening the tight band for relaxation. Golden eyes danced up at his exasperated son. "I want to hold my grandchild in my arms before the Spirit World claims me." He complained, stretching out his stiff back. "A fine bouncing boy or sweet girl. Is that too much for a father to ask?"

Lu Ten resisted the urge - just - to pull his hair out by the roots. Twisting gingerly to the side to start undoing the armour laces, he kept his glare fixed on his face. "I'm twenty-three years old and you want to marry me off already?"

"I was twenty-four when I was married to your mother."

"And you went back on campaign the next morning!"

"Ah but I made sure that the wedding night counted." Iroh wiggled his eyebrows up and down. "Did I ever tell you that you were a honeymoon baby?"

His son shook his head, slowly, from side to side. "No, Dad. Just… Don't."

"You're young, Lu Ten! A soldier! Handsome - well," Iroh stroked his chin with a small smile. "You can't help that with your father's blood." He laughed at the look his son shot him as he twisted to the other leavings. "I just want you to make good use of those things."

"I-" Lu Ten heaved at the edges of his shoulder guards. Iroh took hold of the neck break and held as his son slid from the iron casing. "I am making use of it. In my own way. Besides, _Dad_ ," He couldn't help the grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Don't you make enough use of those things for both of us?"

"Good princes don't listen to idle talk." The greatest gossip in the Fire Nation Army replied virtuously. His expression softened as he looked on the tall young officer towering in front him.

"It is good to have you back, Lu Ten."

His father's embrace had not changed in all of the twenty-three years Lu Ten could remember. Fierce and strong, with a grip like an Earthbender. The scent of ash and spices, a blast of heat like his father was a furnace, only waiting to explode. The extra squeeze at the end, like his father feared to release him in case he should disappear in a puff of smoke. In his life, Lu Ten's one constant had been his father's love and since childhood it had always been like this: the two of them, against the world.

Iroh's grip tightened and the pressure grew too much. Lu Ten let out a gasp of pain as fire lanced his ribs. Almost immediately, his father backed away, a frown creasing between his eyebrows.

"It's nothing." Lu Ten cut in quickly before the inevitable questions. "Some dirtclod got a lucky strike in. It's nothing." He repeated, still seeing the crease etched deep.

Iroh opened his mouth then shut it again, as though the thought that sprung to his lips were too treasonous to voice. Then hard lines dug into the sides of his mouth and he shook his head. "Someday, I will put a burn on the Earth King's body for every scar he has put on yours."

Ghosts of men brushed across Lu Ten's memory. Friends from the Military Academy, buried alive under ambush traps, screaming for air. Soldiers in his command, bodies smashed and broken like rag dolls or caved in with a strike of an Earth Kingdom war hammer. He shook his head. "Someday we will burn this city to the ground for everything the Earth King has done."

The golden eyes settled on Lu Ten's face and the Commander knew then why men feared his father so much. Why his father was known as the Dragon of the West.

The moment held. Then Iroh smiled again.

"Where is Goro with that food? The returning hero needs sustenance before our ordeal tonight!"

He marched over to the back of the tent and pulled across the canvas wall. It didn't surprise Lu Ten to see the sergeant crouched there, casually turning skewers of meat on a makeshift barbecue.

Iroh inhaled with a smile. "Roast duck?"

"And chillies, Dragon."

"A gift from our illustrious Ministry visitor." Iroh crouched down by the bubbling pot of rice and lifted the cover without a wince. One of the perks of being a Firebender. "There are some benefits to his presence."

"As well as 'civilised conversation'."

Lu Ten took some of the heaped bowls of rice. With his foot, he pulled the secretary's low bench across and set the bowls on top. His father followed with a platter of skewers in his hands. Goro remained outside, turning the griddled meat on the skewers. The Commander lowered himself to the thick woven mats that served as seats. Wood was in scarce supply in the Main Camp, with every twig used for building or to feed the smelting forges of the metal-workers. It had become a point of pride amongst the officer class to sit on the ground like Earth Kingdom peasants and donate their camp stools to the greater good.

Grabbing an empty bowl, Lu Ten dug the serving spoon into the rice pot hungrily. The sting of chillies and grilled onions made his mouth water. Keeping his voice casual, he gathered up a clump of rice. "Was that your only reason for inviting Qin?"

Iroh wrapped his hands around the clay tea-pot steaming beside him and felt for the temperature. Satisfied, he poured a generous cup. "Why do you ask?"

A test. Lu Ten swallowed his first mouthful. "He has a connection to House Fan. One of the richest families in the Royal City. Metal factories, ship-building."

"Amongst other things."

"He's ambitious." Lu Ten recalled the greedy look in Qin's eyes as he had gazed on the two Royal Princes. Much like a woman might gaze on a rare jewel. "He wants power. But he was only made minister recently. Six months ago?"

"Five."

"Five. So he's found some powerful new friends. But maybe not powerful enough. The Ministry of Information sounds impressive but it's still only a junior ministry within the Ministry of War. Qin wants to change allegiance. And if a man could offer him the right incentive.."

"Rather like the sniff of a royal marriage."

Lu Ten grinned. "Not just grandchildren then."

"I still want that grandson." His father retorted, narrowing his eyes in a mock-glare. "You won't escape so easily, Prince Lu Ten."

Lu Ten shook his head and skewered a second helping of duck onto his rice. "Who is it? Qin's backer?"

Iroh swirled the dregs of his teacup with one hand in a casual gesture. Too casual.

"It's Ozai. Isn't it?"

"Yes."

The tiredness from three weeks of sleep deprivation suddenly seemed to fall on Lu Ten like a Terra Team boulder. He set down his rice bowl on the mat beside his leg and rubbed the back of his neck. _What else did you expect?_ A voice taunted him at the back of his mind. _It's not as though Ozai kept his views a secret._

"Ozai wants to be next in line for the Fire Throne after you." He lifted his eyes to his impassive father. "That's why he's gathering support amongst the nobles. He wants others to support him when he approaches the Fire Lord with his plans."

"Most probably." Iroh agreed calmly. "My brother is not a fool. He has miscalculated though. Fire Lord Azulon reveres the rule of law almost as much as he reveres the element of Fire. He will never break the legal line of succession, no matter Ozai's arguments."

"Ozai has Zuko. And Azula." _Gods, Azula. A General in the making._

"And I have you." The Dragon's voice turned fierce. "Never forget who you are, Lu Ten. My heir. My _son_." He snapped his tea-cup on the lacquered table. His hand reached out and gripped Lu Ten's knee. "When the time comes, you will be a Fire Lord. A good Fire Lord."

 _If I make it out of Ba Sing Se alive._ It was the first time the possibility of death had crossed Lu Ten's mind. Maybe it was the reminder of his own place in the family, the precarious nature of his own succession. A stray arrow from an Earth Kingdom bow, a lucky boulder thrown at just the right moment and Ozai would not have to petition the Fire Lord to change the line of succession. With no other child - as far as anyone in the world was aware - of Iroh's blood, Ozai would be the only choice to succeed his brother to the Fire Throne.

The thought of Earthbenders brought to mind the reports of the new Earthbending team in the Agrarian Zone. Lu Ten picked up his rice bowl and chopsticks again. "Has the same stray wind of rumour whispered anything to you about a new sapper regiment in the Earth King's forces?"

"Sappers?"

"Mmmm. One of my officers, Daichi. He mentioned seeing some Earthbenders creeping up close to our defensive works out in the Zone. Dark green uniforms and a spike," Lu Ten sketched the line of the pointed helmet with his chopsticks. "Sticking out from their helmet. Longer than the stub the Terra Team have. I thought one of your professors might recognise them."

Iroh's 'professors', as they were know colloquially in the Fire Nation Main Camp were less academics than intelligence officers. They gathered every rumour and scrap of information they could find. Everything was relevant and everything was collected: the state of the Earth King's forces, their composition and the changing leaders in the Council of Five. They analysed the information, boiling it down to hard facts that might bring some advantage to the Fire Nation army. More than once, a general in the field had thanked his stars for the intelligence provided by the General's professors when he was facing down a new trick by the Earth King's forces.

Iroh pursed his lips. "Nothing has been brought to my attention. If you like, I can arrange for a debrief tomorrow afternoon."

Lu Ten shrugged. "Maybe it's nothing. They didn't put up much of a fight. Probably just new conscripts, testing their nerves."

Iroh stroked his chin. "A debrief can't hurt. A pity your officer didn't capture one alive."

"We couldn't hold them anyway. The men were too tired and too close to being relieved. It… wasn't the best time to take prisoners." Lu Ten rubbed his hand across the stitches on his chest. The burning had subsided for a while once he'd removed his armour but the relief was only temporary. He would have to stop by the hospital tent later and pray there were some painkillers available. The last thing he needed was to be kept awake because of some accursed nick.

"Mmm." The Dragon's golden eyes wandered the room absently. In the comfortable silence, they drifted back to the younger man opposite and then down to the laden table between them. A sharp glint turned the gold to yellow steel. "Are you still hungry, Lu Ten?"

It was not difficult to follow the General's train of thought. "Don't think of it."

"You should respect and honour your elders." Iroh complained. His fingers made a stealthy grab towards his own set of chopsticks. He lifted them like daggers towards the final skewer of roast duck resting on the white porcelain platter. "Besides, rich food is not good for young stomachs."

"That excuse didn't work when I was seven, Dad." Lu Ten narrowed his eyes at the sneaky assault. "You would deprive your only child?"

"In a heartbeat." The Dragon replied smartly. A sudden dash and he nipped the final skewer into his own bowl before Lu Ten could even react. His son laughed as he drew the first slice of duck from the skewer with a sigh of pleasure.

"Enjoying it, Dad?"

"You're not the only one who needs sustenance for the ordeal ahead, my son."

* * *

 **Hello! Sorry about the slow update! Time is running away with me a bit but I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **So next chapter we should find out what the elephant in the room is regarding poor old Lu Ten and why Ozai doesn't like him all that much (aside from the obvious). I'm sure most people have probably already guessed but tune in anyway! (There might also be some mildly citrus situations involving our Fire Natio Prince with a surprising show connection!) Also, I'd love to hear what people think of my Ba Sing Se Iroh. A bit of a change from the lovable Uncle we see on the show but I remember reading somewhere that Lu Ten's death at the Siege was a huge catalyst for Iroh's transformation from ruthless General to peaceful White Lotus Grand Master.**

 **Anyway, if you enjoyed the chapter or if you feel it needs a bit more of something, please let me know! I literally jump around the room squealing when I get reviews so believe me they are appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Thousand Silver Scars**

* * *

 _General Prince Iroh's tent_

 _Fire Nation Army Main Camp_

* * *

"…fascinating." Minister Qin took another sip of his sake, using both hands to hold the glass steady. "Enthralling, really, to see the march of Fire Nation technology across the continent. Steam engines, ships. Even the mechanised transports used here at the siege, General. Truly, we have brought the future to this benighted continent."

He sipped again. His cheeks were flushed and Lu Ten doubted it was purely enthusiasm for his precious machines. The more Qin talked, the more he drank and he had not stopped speaking for the last fifteen minutes.

"What did these people have before we came? Every facet of infrastructure, subject to the whims of a few Earth Benders. I doubt there was a single engine in this place before your army arrived, General."

"I must admit, Minister, the thought had not crossed my mind."

Lu Ten caught his father's gaze wandering to the bottle of sake squatting by Qin's elbow. The Great Dragon wet his lips. Then he turned away and picked up the porcelain tea cup beside him.

Lu Ten took a gulp of sake, grateful he did not need to exercise his father's self-imposed restraint. It was bad enough sitting through the rants of a propagandist after a long day. Far worse still to be sober.

The liquor burned his throat like a molten fireball rolling down his chest. When he opened his eyes, the sharp angles of Qin's face blurred in a pleasant haze. His niece even looked pretty.

 _What the hell. Maybe Dad was right._ The thought lurched across his brain in a woozy shuffle. _It wouldn't be that hard, would it? Being married._

He caught a flash of deep brown eyes darting to his face and bit back a smile. _Go on then. Look your fill._

Lady Mizuki's face was plain. There was no way around that. Her nose was big and her lips were thin. She wore her brown hair scraped back from her face in a military bun, a style that did her features no favours.

 _Her eyes aren't bad. Pretty eyes. Besides, I can always blow out the candle._

He caught her gaze and held it. Ten seconds. Twenty. He smiled.

She looked away and down, red embarrassment turning her cheeks bright scarlet.

The movement wasn't lost on Qin. Lu Ten felt the minister's speculative stare slide down his neck even as Qin raised his cup to his lips again. Good. That might give the grasping Raven-eagle something to think about.

He relaxed his shoulders in the metal shell of his dress armour and schooled his face to seem interested. "Is this your final stop in the Earth Colonies, Minister?"

"No, Commander." Qin shook his head. "I am ordered north."

Iroh stilled at that unexpected turn. Sharp golden eyes flew to the minister's face.

"I was not aware the Fire Lord had agreed to extend the campaign frontier." His voice was smooth and neutral.

Lu Ten, with less self-control, hid his own expression in pouring out another cup of sake. When they left the Fire Nation, all of Azulon's energies had focussed on his elder son's grand siege of the Earth Kingdom Capital. It was the old man's dream to burn away the last of the corrupt Earth royalty's pretensions of equality with the Fire Nation.

But the extension of the battle frontier, far to the north of Ba Sing Se, suggested the Fire Lord's enthusiasm for the siege was waning. The beginning of a new campaign meant recruits would be drawn away from Ba Sing Se, leaving fewer and fewer men to hold out against the Earth Kingdom onslaught. All those months, scrabbling in the mud and rubble of the Wall, abandoned.

This information put a new light on Qin's visit and made gaining the man's loyalty a more pressing task than before.

"…rumours from some of our scouts that the Northern Air Temple is re-occupied." Qin's interest in his niece's flirtation did not distract him from his conversation. Lu Ten, his cup refilled, sat back to listen.

"Spirits know, we removed those prancing Air Benders more than fifty years ago. Nevertheless the Fire Lord is concerned that a resurgence movement may be gathering amongst local colonies." Qin shook his head. "My own father advocated for those temples to be destroyed when we first assimilated the region. Unfortunately, he was overruled."

"I recall the debate." A low beat pulsed in Iroh's voice, a warning for anyone with the ears to hear it.

Lu Ten stiffened. Even through the haze of heat and alcohol, he heard the threat of his father's temper. Qin was walking a dangerous line. A line a more sober man would take care to avoid. Iroh was not a man to suffer zealots gladly.

The Dragon of the West continued. "My grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, ruled to preserve the temples as a symbol of the Air Bender culture."

"Air Bender ignorance, as I recall, were the Fire Lord's precise words, General."

It would be astonishing if he did not. Sozin's famous quote was the preface to every historical work the Fire Nation published on the subject.

"There are calls to destroy the temples?" Lu Ten cut in to the conversation. He knew the signs in his father: the clipped syllables, the extreme courtesy. If Qin wasn't careful, he would have the tent burnt down around their ears. "I am surprised that the Fire Lord would focus so far from our home bases."

"Well…" The unexpected attack had Qin shifting on his mat. His niece shot him a worried stare. "No. The Fire Lord still favours preservation. There are some who insist Fire Lord Sozin's edicts be upheld. Councilman Michio of House Wei for one."

Neither Prince missed the twist of annoyance the councilman's name gave to Qin's thin lips. Michio of House Wei was as infamous for his moderate, peace-loving views as he was for the rivers of gold pouring forth from his family's foundries. He had been an member of the Fire Lord's council for years, serving as minister in several departments. Notably, as far as Lu Ten's rusty brain could recall, never in the Ministry of War.

"I know Michio of House Wei well. An excellent Pai Sho player, as I recall." Iroh, his serenity restored, took another sip of his tea. "With an unusual strategy. A challenging opponent to the right man."

"I am not a man who has much time for Pai Sho."

"You should make time, Minister. It is an excellent game for tactics. I myself enjoy a strong offence in the beginning. Although, like Councilman Michio, I do dabble in the White Lotus Gambit."

Lu Ten laughed. It was louder than normal. Just a nudge over what might be acceptable in a relaxed evening. "Opening with the weakest tile on the board? Only when you want to lose, Dad!"

That was a slip. They were not meant to be so informal, not in front of strangers. That was for closed doors and privacy. A cup too much sake and the smug heat of the girl's admiration had pushed him over the edge.

He was drinking too fast. The bottle would be gone soon. But _Gods_ , he was tired and sore with the dull ache of exhaustion. The last thing he needed tonight was to be sober and polite and.. _princely_.

He _deserved_ this.

His father's eyes flashed when Lu Ten tilted the last of the sake into his cup. But he did not comment. Even if he knew the signs himself. Better than most.

"A weak tile, yes." General Prince Iroh replied genially. "Still, I find the White Lotus Gambit is the best for a long game."

 _A very long game_. Lu Ten snorted in his head. He was a good player - with a father as obsessed with the board as Iroh, how could he not be? But he had never won a single game opening with the White Lotus. Like most players, he preferred to discard the tile as soon as possible after the beginning. There was as much strategy in a quick victory, after all, as in a long stalemate.

"Does Lady Mizuki travel with you, Minister?"

The young woman blushed as the attention of the room turned to her. Qin cleared his throat.

"Yes, Commander. Mizuki's father has graciously permitted her to accompany me throughout this journey. She has some little skill with paints," Qin made a disparaging gesture. "And expressed a wish to sketch what is left of the Air Temples. A hobby."

 _A hobby that took her into a war zone._ Lu Ten thought cynically. _Interesting, that._

The voice inside his head chided him like his father. _Now you sound like Ozai._

 _Ozai has to be right some of the time._

"Lady Mizuki, what is your opinion on the question of the Air Temples?"

 _Unfair,_ Lu Ten thought. Even if it was couched in a flirtatious - he shuddered at the adjective but there it was - voice. Did his father expect to embarrass the girl by denying her uncle's views in public?

The girl threw Qin another startled look from her poppy-dark eyes. The Minister gave a terse nod.

"I…" Her voice was low, pleasant enough. There was a tinge of a Royal City accent there, smoothed over, no doubt, by elocution lessons in the Fire Nation Academy for Girls. "I think Councilman Michio is wise to preserve the structures, my Prince. If only to remind us of the dangers of a backwards society."

 _That's it, my lady. Compromise is the art of conversation._ The old motto of his Lu Ten's childhood etiquette teacher had been beaten into him with a bamboo rod. Unlike him, it seemed Mizuki actually listened to those boring old farts.

Emboldened by her uncle's nod, the girl continued. Her silk robe shimmered in the firelight as she resettled her hands more firmly on her lap. "After all, my Prince, if the Air Nomads had been more successful as a society, they would not have been defeated - not that a monk could possibly beat any Fire Nation officer!" The dark eyes flicked again to Lu Ten and a flush started up on her cheeks.

"Lady Mizuki is a patriot." Iroh's voice was gentler than expected.

There was a nudge there. With the peak of the alcohol burned away, Lu Ten was in enough control not to glare at his father in return. It didn't prevent him from narrowing his eyes in reprimand. _Stop meddling, Dad._

Iroh's courtier smile twitched a little and Lu Ten knew the Dragon of the West was already picking out bridal flowers.

"Lady Mizuki graduated in the top rank of her year in the Fire Nation Academy for Girls." Qin moved seamlessly on to the new topic. The wily old buzzard saw more profit in this new turn than in bickering with a Royal Prince over dead Air Benders. "Her teachers commended her for her Fire Bending training, recommending her for a mastership."

"That is truly remarkable. A lady of talent as well as beauty." Iroh lifted his tea cup to toast the girl.

Mizuki flushed. "Please, my Prince. It is an honour just to be ranked amongst those who have done the _most_ for the glory of our nation…"

The sentence was out before Mizuki's brain caught up with her words. Her hands flew to her mouth. Two horrified dark eyes found Lu Ten and pierced him with the skill of Yuyan archer.

Because there was one man in the tent who was not amongst those favoured few. The same man who stood heir to the greatest tradition of master Fire Benders in all the Fire Islands.

The freak of his family. Their secret shame.

The sneer in Qin's eyes lingered just long enough for Lu Ten to see it. Not that he needed to. He had lived with that and worse for twenty-three years.

"I- I did not mean…" The girl stuttered, her words like stones shattering glass. "Everyone knows your highness is a loyal subject and a brave soldier…"

"Yet can never quite do enough. Is that not so?"

 _Weak._

"N-no…"

"Never mind that I _bleed_ on the _battlefield_ for my nation-"

"Prince Lu Ten."

Lu Ten drew in a breath. It shuddered down his throat and burned, gods, it burned in that back of his eyes and chest like a fireball.

Because she was right. No matter how much blood he gave, how many lives he took or battles he fought, it was never enough. He was the son of the greatest Fire Bender alive, a Prince of the Fire Nation.

And he was nothing but a squib. A non-Bender.

In an ordinary family, a squib was a source of derision. In the Royal Family, it was an embarrassment.

 _He_ was an embarrassment.

" _I told your father it was better to kill you in your cradle than let you grow and disgrace us."_

"Lu Ten!"

It was only then Lu Ten realised he was on his feet.

Blood pounded in his ears. His head spun. Drink and tiredness and _Gods_ , what he wouldn't give to have one of Hirota's pills. Just one to clear his head and stop the burning at the back of his eyes and the ache across his shoulders.

Qin's mouth was a black cavern of shock. Mizuki looked ready to dissolve into tears. And his father…

Disappointment. Again. Always disappointment.

No matter how much Iroh loved him, that was the truth.

Not a Fire Bender. Not the best. Only an ordinary killer, scrabbling in the mud like a dog.

Funny that alcohol blurred some things and brought others - the darker, the hidden - into sharp relief.

" _He should have killed you in your cradle…"_

 _Get me out of here. Get me out._

"I… My apologies." A bow. "I arranged to meet some officers at the mess. I am late."

He was gone before any of them could say a word.

* * *

 **So the white Elephant in the room - how can you have an heir to the Fire Nation Throne who isn't even a Fire Bender?**

 **What do you think of Lu Ten's attitude to it? It seems a bit extreme but remember this is in a nation that glorifies the Royal Family and Fire Bending - there's never been a non-bending Fire Lord. Ozai even threatened to throw Zuko over hte battlements when he thought he was a non-Bender. I don't see Iroh being a father like that but the propaganda and culture of the Fire Nation has to have some impact.**

 **Also - intrigue brewing back in the Fire Nation - what could this mean for our two Princes?**

 **I know elements like alcohol and drugs weren't a feature in the Avatar show. But even taking historical wars into account, it seemed logical that soldiers in a continuous war of attrition like the Siege of Ba Sing Se would be taking something, if only to stay awake and a bit sane. I'd love to know what you think!**

 **Hope of you enjoy this chapter - there's more to come so please comment and favourite! I really appreciate getting feedback!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A Thousand Silver Scars**

* * *

 _Warning: Bad language ahead. Fire Nation soldiers don't hold back._

* * *

 _Main Mess Hall_

 _Fire Nation Army Main Camp_

* * *

The noise from inside the Mess hall was an inferno. It engulfed Lu Ten the instant he pushed open the makeshift door. The sound seared his ears and burnt away the shakes. More than two hundred men filled the wooden barn that dusk but from the noise, it could have been more than two thousand.

The Commander paused at the entrance. Absently, he rubbed his hand across his mouth, wiping away the lingering sting of bile. He'd been sick on the way, somewhere in between a colonel's tent and the rhino stands. Never mind. He was steadier now, his mind able to reassert itself over those childhood nightmares. Besides, the Earth Kingdom conscripts would clear any trace of the vomit away before dawn

Golden eyes scanned the crowded hall. A mixed bag of rough benches and tables made up most of the furniture. These were the coveted seats. Most men stood around in groups or leaned up against the support posts. There were no braziers in here. Too dangerous with so much dry wood. Instead, the cavern was heated with the fug of wine-scented breathes and the press of human bodies squashed tight together.

Darker-skinned Earth girls squeezed in between the laughing, shouting mobs of soldiers, trays of drink and bowls of popped, flavoured rice in their upheld hands. Most were daughters or sisters of the farmers who bartered their wares in the barrack square during the day. Like their male relatives, they wore a red band around their upper arm, a sign they were trusted.

Some of them had painted faces. Their eyes were darkened with rims of sooty kohl. Blusher slashed their sallow cheeks red, a sham attempt to mimic Fire Nation beauties. These girls worked a double shift: the early evening in the mess hall bar, the night in one of the army brothels behind. Another concession the Dragon of the West made for his mens' morale.

One of them, passing by with a tray of drinks, let her eyes linger. A small smirk kicked up the corner of her red-stained lips. It widened a little as her eyes fell lower onto the commander insignias stamped on his shoulder guards in gold.

Because it was expected, Lu Ten gave her a long look in return. She was pretty in that dirty, Earth peasant style of way. More squat than the typical Fire Nation woman, with heavy breasts and sturdy thighs outlined in the thin cotton skirt the Earth girls wore straight down and tight in to their hips. Another night he might be tempted. Two warm bodies, moving together in a bedroll was as good a way as any to block out the chill of a spring night.

Tonight, though, he just leaned forward and grabbed one of the cups balanced on her tray. Before she could protest, he cut across her. "I'm looking for Hirota. Major Hirota. Eighth Battalion."

"Sure about that?" The words came out as a purr.

The Commander gave a grin. It was more than tempting. "Not now, sweetheart."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself… _sir_." Her eyes flicked once more then she jerked her chin to the right. "Last bench, down to the right. In the big group."

"Thanks." He took a swig of the cup and set it back, half-full. "And thanks."

She humphed but he was already gone, moving in between the clumps of army and navy uniforms littering the hall. He could hear them before he saw them fully. The whole gang. The rogue's gallery of their graduating year.

There was Takeo. Takeo Sato, Major in the Third Artillary, a dozy-eyed sloth until you put him behind a trebuchet. Then he became the best marksman in the whole Grand Army.

Jumping on the bench beside him was Yoshikazu. Yoshi was a fireball, always spitting flames about one thing or another, his temper as unpredictable as the Fire he bent. Captain Ty Lan of Eighth Royal Firebenders Guard stood toe to toe with Yoshikazu already. Her finger stabbed at Yoshi's chest, pushing her point home.

Lu Ten rolled his eyes. The two of them had sent sparks off each other since their first day together in the Academy. Always competing, as brash and loud as each other, it took the whole group of friends to keep Ty and Yoshi at some kind of stalemate.

It was good - gods, it was so _good_ to see that some things hadn't changed.

Hirota, his goood arm wrapped around a slim brunette in Royal Engineers' grey-and-red, lifted his head then. His flushed face broke into a grin.

"LU!"

Rota, Lu Ten decided, had been here a while.

The Major clearly didn't want to release the woman tucked in to his waist. Since his other arm was bound tight to his chest, he resorted to nodding his head frantically in Lu Ten's direction.

"Lu Ten! You stuck-up royal bastard! Get over here!"

The others turned, distracted by Hirota's shouts. Takeo gave a cheer and thumped the table. "Lu! You're alive!"

"Of course I'm flaming alive, Takeo, you lazy ball-breaker. Where's the gods-cursed wine or have you pile of dung-heads drunk it all?"

"Waiting for you, _your highness_." Ty Lan broke off from punching Yoshi in the chest long enough to flutter her eyelashes at the tall commander. "Break into the Royal coffers and order us something decent."

Lu Ten laughed and for the first time since he made it back through the wall, it felt natural. It felt like _home_.

"Me? I'm only a lowly commander. Field pay, no benefits. I burn mud-rats for coppers and say thank you, General, sir, for the great honour."

"Hah!" Hirota leaned forward and took an exaggerated sniff of Lu Ten's armour. "And on the menu tonight was… _duck_!"

"With chillies." Noriko wriggled out of Hirota's clutch long enough to take her own sniff. Her voice was cool and amused and considerably more sober than her fiancé. "And saffron?"

"It's metal. You can't get any smell from metal."

Nori gave a small feline smell. She'd been the smartest cadet in their class. If there was a way to get a smell from metal armour, she'd figure it out. "Saffron too."

Hirota snorted. "The life in the Upper Ring. Tell me, Commander, sir, have you orderlies to clean your tent? Wipe your royal bum?"

"Only when you're not around to kiss it better, Rota."

"Burn me, Lu Ten." But Hirota's comeback was only half-hearted. Nori snuggled closer under his arm, her hand sneaking out to rest along his bandage. It was the first time they'd seen each other in four weeks.

Lu Ten slung his leg over the bench and sat down in the bunch, in between Hirota and Ty Lan. The same position he had always sat, right through their last two years in the Academy. Yoshi, hammering the table to catch the servers' eyes, perched next to Takeo who celebrated Lu Ten's survival by swaying gently in time to the Fire Nation national anthem. Then there was Shinzo…

There wasn't Shinzo.

"Ty." Lu Ten nudged Ty Lan's shoulder. He kept his voice low, even though a man would have to shout to be heard over the roaring in the hall. "Where's Shinzo? I thought he got the same reserve rota as Takeo."

Something flashed in Ty Lan's brown eyes. Flicking her long plait of hair over her other shoulder, she gave a quick shake of her head. Her eyes flicked to Takeo and back in warning.

"Shan-Bao." She mouthed the words. Under the table, where no one else could see, her hand gave a hard tremble.

Shan-Bao. Lu Ten's stomach swooped low and turned. That was the special military hospital, deep in the centre of the Earth Colonies. Most men who went there were diagnosed with 'exhaustion'. The peaceful countryside was meant to help them to 'relax'. Military pamphlets even called it a spa. But everyone knew the truth.

Shan-Bao was a prison or as good as. It wasn't there to help the broken-down soldiers sent there to recuperate. It was to keep away from the other men, to stem the mental disintegration before it spread across all the ranks.

No man sent to Shan-Bao ever came back from there.

" _Shinzo_?"

Shinzo wasn't the type to break down. Short and wiry, he was tough as regulation boot leather. Like Lu Ten, he'd been in command of a normal infantry brigade, posted at one of the quieter sections of the front lines. Last time their reserve leave had coincided, Shinzo had kept Lu Ten awake the whole night, talking and cracking jokes about their old teachers back at the Academy. He had a fiancée in the Royal City and carried her portrait with him everywhere. Lu Ten had seen it. Shinzo pulled it out every five minutes to boast about her.

Shinzo wouldn't break.

Ty Lan shook her head. Something in his face must have alerted her because her hard smile softened, just for an instant.

"They said it's a few weeks. Just a few. Then home for some leave."

She shoved a cup of wine at him. For a moment, her hands fumbled in his and then there was something hard and smooth pressed into his palm. When he opened it, he saw it was one of Hirota's pills.

"Where did you-"

"He gave me some before you two left last time, to give to Nori when she was running double-shifts." She glared at him. "Take it, idiot. You look burnt out."

Lu Ten didn't ask a second time. He brought his palm up to his mouth and swallowed. He followed it with a slug of the sake and the pleasant heat started to flow through his veins again. Different this time. Easier. He was able to focus on the argument on the table.

Yoshi was in the middle of another one of his love-stories. "…so I said to her, I said, sweetheart, I'm gonna set your night on fire. She said, oh, but Major, sir!" He gave an exaggerated flutter of his eyes, to a round of chuckles from his audience. "My _reputation_!"

At the last word, Yoshi flung his hand out in a dramatic protest. He nearly upended the two sake bottles the dumpy Earth Kingdom server had left at Takeo's elbow. Takeo roused his head to give a shout of warning.

"Hey! Yoshi! Ash-brain. That'sh my reservesh _pay_." He thumped the table. "I gotta make it _count_."

"You wanna to miss my true and unvarnished story?"

" _Everyone_ does." Ty Lan gave a snort. "'Specially since it's a pack of lies."

"Lies! The thighs of women tremble when they see me coming!" Yoshi retorted indignantly. "I've broken more Great Walls than the Dragon."

Lu Ten groaned and pretended to thump his head on the table. "Can we not put _my father_ and women's thighs in the same sentence?"

Takeo cleared his throat. "Oh! The Great Western Dragon," He launched into the latest camp song. "Makes the Earth Kingdom quail! He's known for his fire and his very long…"

" _Shut up_!"

"…tail."

"Live it up, Lu Ten." Yoshi reached behind to smack the Commander on his shoulder. "Face it, what with Takeo having a face like a rhino's bum-"

"Hey!"

"And Hirota's coals clutched between Nori's steely little fingers-"

"Burn me, Yoshikazu."

"There's only you and me. And Ty, of course. But she doesn't count."

"Say that again, hot man." Ty Lan folded her arms and scowled. Lu Ten wrapped his arm around her waist. It wasn't the first time he had to pull Ty Lan back from landing a punch on Yoshi's smiling, stupid face.

"Whatever. So with my superior good looks and charm,"

There was a chorus of boos. Yoshi only raised his voice louder. "And your slightly less superior good looks and Royal Princey-ness, we'll have every Upper Ring fancy lady at our feet."

Nori chuckled. "That's if Admiral Chan doesn't do it first." She remarked in her quiet alto.

"Mm hmmm." Ty Lan shrugged off Lu Ten's arm. Her brown eyes sparkled. "For a Navy man, he _is_ pretty scorching."

"And _rich_."

"Chan?" Lu Ten snorted with laughter. "Has he even got the message we're at war?"

"So, the wet-back can't send a messenger hawk." Ty Lan shrugged. "If he _did_ have brains, he'd be in the Army."

"What'd you say, Ty? That _WET-BACKS_ don't have _BRAINS_?" Yoshi bellowed the last words down the hall towards a group of Naval officers.

Black glares turned towards him in return but the Firebending Major shrugged. "Flaming cowards." He muttered. "We're up against Terra Teams and green-backs day and night for weeks and what do they do? Swan around in a few yachts, making pictures of the Sea Serpent in the Eastern Lake."

"Better n'that." Takeo roused himself from his doze against Hirota's bad shoulder. He scrubbed an arm across his mouth. "You hear about Admiral Liang?"

"Admiral where's-my-map Liang?" Hirota's face lengthened into a sneer. "Dragon's flames, who hasn't?"

"Didn't he get lost sailing around Hira'a once?"

" _I_ heard he bought his commission. Two hundred bags of gold to the right minister and - _boom_."

"Lu Ten'll know." Ty Lan interjected. "Come on, Lu, spread some Upper Ring gossip around. Tell us what the generals say."

Lu Ten shrugged. "The Navy's Ozai's playground."

Least said about _that_ , the better.

" _ANYWAY_!" Takeo banged the wooden table. Ripples shook in every cup. "Liang's got this guy, Zhao. Face like a howler monkey. Makes him his map-reader, right?" He hiccuped.

"I've seen him." Nori broke in. "Strutted through the workshop with this dusty scroll, saying our fortification measurements were backwards."

"Burn-hard." Even though Yoshi said the same thing on a frequent basis, it didn't detract from his disgust at Zhao's back-talk.

"This Zhao," Takeo sniggered. "Liang's map reader. He reads the map _so well_ , he takes the entire crew into the middle of the Si Wong desert. Not a drop of water in sight for over a hundred miles!"

The air shook with howls of laughter. The rivalry between the Army and the Navy was always fierce in the Fire Nation. In recent years, however, with more and more emphasis placed on the land campaigns in the Earth Kingdom, it had intensified.

The Navy felt that the Army was stealing their glory, sucking up money and resources that could be used to crush resistance in the Water Tribes or the Southern Earth Kingdom. The Army looked on the Navy's tradition of purchasing a commission with contempt and resented the safe missions and patrol jobs most of the Navy cruisers had.

This broke out on all levels of the naval and military hierarchies. It was most intense, however, amongst the junior officers of either section. It was no surprise then that the officers following Admiral Liang and Chan on their rendezvous with General Iroh tended to stick together in groups and avoid the bars and mess halls where the Army officers drank. A hint of brawling or bar-fighting could have both men up in front of a military tribunal before dawn the next day.

Well. _Most_ naval officers.

Yoshi drew in a hissing breath. "Balls of fire, is that him, Takeo? The Human Compass himself?"

The group of six turned their heads in the direction of Yoshi's gaze.

A naval officer weaved his way through the crowds, a bottle and glass clutched in his hand. He was tall enough and top-heavy, even taking into account the bulk of his metal armour. Dirty-brown hair, scraped into a top knot, was already receding from his bulbous forehead.

His sideburns made up for it. Stretching past his ears to touch the line of his jaw, they fluffed outwards into two points. They were distinctive. Memorable.

Flaming dragon balls. Lu Ten cursed. Nori raised her eyebrows.

"You know him?"

"He's one of my uncle's-" Minions. Sycophants. "People. He was hanging around the palace the last time I was home on leave."

There was a flash of sympathy in Nori's eyes. Her brother was involved in Naval Supply, another one of Ozai's people. She knew the type.

Lu Ten pulled the heavy shoulder guard forward. He didn't need Nori looking at him like that. True, her brother was a burn-hard who sucked up Ozai's ideas like a kid with fire flakes. That didn't give her the right to assume he needed help.

He could handle Ozai. He could put up with his uncle and the rhino-dung spitting from his mouth every time they butted heads. He was doing fine, he told himself, tossing the last of the wine in his cup back his throat. Doing just fine

" _Weak."_

 _Shut up._

"Lu, what the flameo you doing?"

Takeo blinked at the commander. Bleary confusion smeared in his eyes. Ty Lan twisted around, a frown marring her forehead.

Lu Ten ignored them. "Lieutenant Zhao!"

Hirota drew in a hiss of warning. There was no way Lu Ten would escape a court martial if he picked a fight with Zhao. The Dragon couldn't be seen to favour his son over other officers.

It was too late.

Zhao's lips pursed once. The bushy brows drew together over his yellow eyes. Still, he changed course, wending his way over to the gang of young Army officers.

"Your highness." He nodded.

"I see you found your way to the mess bar at least, Lieutenant."

Zhao's eyes lingered on the tiny flame pinned to Lu Ten's topknot. Lu Ten could feel the man's distaste rising like a morning mist brushing wet against his face. It made him want to push back. Harder. "That must be a surprise for you."

"Not really, your highness. I just had to follow the smell of vomit."

Lu Ten stilled. Zhao's lips were curved in a smirk. They were full lips, bright red and strangely voluptuous on a man. The jarring contradiction fuelled Lu Ten's dislike.

"I hear you've been promoted."

"Admiral Liang has graciously recognised my qualifications."

Qualifications like being the lapdog of the third-in-line to the Burning Throne. Not that Ozai would ever soil himself by associating with a lowly lieutenant in public.

Yoshi grunted, coming back to life. "Who funded you this time, Zhao?"

Those full lips tightened. "The Navy bases its selection on the skills and talents of its candidates."

Takeo burst into a neigh of laughter. "I heard you have talent all right, Zhao. A real talent for _drilling_ midshipmen."

Taking up the challenge, Yoshi stuck his tongue in his cheek. He jabbed his left thumb back and forth to into his clenched fist.

Zhao's face flushed. A little of his hauteur slipped.

"The Fire Nation Navy is an ancient and honourable institution." He snarled, provoking more laughter from the group. "Not a _playground_ for spoiled, over-bred Academy burn outs like the Army."

"Oh, do you hear that?" Ty Lan grinned. "We're _spoiled_."

"I think someone's feeling left out." Lu Ten drawled. "What's wrong, Zhao? Your benefactor couldn't buy you a title along with your commission?"

"A title didn't make you a Fire Bender." Zhao spat. " _Squib_."

The reaction was instant. Yoshi sprang back to his feet. Takeo swore and slammed his glass down. Nori leapt from Hirota's hug to snatch hold of Lu Ten's arm.

She needn't have bothered. Lu Ten didn't expect anything less from a sea slug like Zhao. His expression shuttered back into a sneer. "How much did my uncle pay you to say _that_ out loud, Zhao? I know you're too much a coward to speak for yourself."

"I'm not a coward. Unlike some."

"So now you call me a coward too? I should burn you where you stand."

"A true son of Fire would call me out in an Agni Kai for the insult." Zhao's smirk settled back, hiding the fury behind a smooth mask. "But since _your_ _highness_ is too _afraid_ to face the flames…"

"Shut up, Zhao." Hirota cut in to the inferno. He scowled. "The Dragon has forbidden any Agni Kais in the front lines. You know that."

There was a warning there for Lu Ten too. He folded his lips against a snarl at Hirota to butt out of this conversation. His friend was watching out for him. He knew that. He should appreciate that.

"Then when you return to the Fire Nation. _If_ you return." Zhao gave a mockery of a bow. "Your highness."

Lu Ten scowled at the lieutenant's retreating back. He turned to Hirota. Hirota glared back. "That was stupid, Lu."

"He was asking for it."

"He was." Takeo hacked a gob of spit onto the floor space where Zhao stood moments before. "My cousin is friends with one of his underlings. He said Zhao was sick in the head. Always muttering about 'Fire'! 'The superior element'!"

"Did you catch the quip about us being over-bred?" Ty Lan snorted. "After he bought his commission and all."

"He's probably just sour because the Navy's packed with over-blown House brats and Zhao's all on his own." Nori shrugged. "Only Jeong Jeong…" She stopped. Hirota's arm tightened in warning around her shoulders.

The others pretended not to notice her slip. Nori, for all her quietness, had always been the most radical of them all. She preferred talking to fighting, an anomaly in the Fire Nation. It was why she had chosen to opt for a career in the Engineers over the regular army or one of the Fire Bending units. Less glory but also less chance of killing someone.

"Speaking of noble Houses…" Yoshi waggled his eyebrows and changed the subject the only way he knew how. "Heard you have a House girl chasing your tail, _Commander_."

"Where the flameo did you hear that?"

"I have sources in the Upper Ring."

"He pays - _Hic!_ \- General Madoka's orderly to clean his tent." Takeo hiccuped.

"It's a source! Is it true?"

"Yoshi, our Lu Ten has every House girl chasing him." Nori recovered from her slip and rolled her eyes at the Fire Bender. "Don't you remember our graduating year?"

Takeo laughed and blew out half his cup of sake across the table. "When he had to run double drill for three weeks because Hard Nose Harumi caught that Academy girl sneaking in to his room?"

"Please, Captain, sir, I've never seen her before!" Ty Lan adopted a high falsetto, clutching her hands together. Lu Ten swiped at her, his good humour back.

"I _hadn't_ until that night."

"Then you saw a _whole_ lot more." Takeo sniggered.

"Along with half the graduating year." Lu Ten added dryly. "Romantic, I don't think."

Yoshi roared with laughter. "Shinzo said you nearly shit your pants when you fell into bed and she started squealing. He said…" He stopped.

Yoshi cleared his throat and swiped the sake from Takeo's elbow. "Dragon's flames, Takeo, you've downed half the spirits-cursed bottle! Give the rest of us a taste, reserves-rat."

" _Hic_! I'll have you- _Hic_!- know, I am - _Hic_!- a valuable contribution to the - _Hic_!- war effort." Takeo retorted with a swipe at dignity.

"Yeah. And the Earth King wipes my bum each morning." Yoshi sneered. He swung the bottle wide, filling up every glass to the cheers of his fellow Academy graduates.

Lu Ten picked up his brimming glass. He tried to ignore the tremble in his friend's hand as resettled the bottle by his own elbow. Yoshi needed a break. He'd speak to his father.

Yoshi continued. "You chuck-chuck boys are only a step up from the girls and their non-coms."

"Excuse me?" Ty Lan sat bolt upright at the sudden attack. Two tongues of flame lanced her pale cheeks. "Did I hear you right, Yoshikazu Mina? Are you saying we women aren't as good as you?"

"Ty, come on." Lu Ten threw the sake back his throat and set his cup down again. He dragged the back of his palm across his mouth. "Yoshi's joking. Take the joke."

Ty Lan pinched her lips together in a tight, angry line. She sat back, her arms folded across her chest. "He better be. Fighting at the front doesn't make you a better officer. It just means you have balls. And I don't mean that metaphorically."

"Metaphorically." Takeo mumbled, a smile swimming on his face. The rest ignored him.

"Look at Nori." Ty Lan jerked her thumb at the quiet woman in Engineer's grey and maroon, sitting silently in the cradle of Hirota's arm. "Top of her class, medal of honour at our passing out parade. She even beat you." She added, with jerk of her chin in Lu Ten's direction.

"Thank you for reminding me." Lu Ten retorted drily. He glanced at the clay sake bottle. Was there enough there for a refill or did they need a new one?

"Whatever."

Lu Ten rolled his eyes and raised his fingers for the server.

"What I mean is, look at Nori." Ty Lan continued. "Best at everything. But she'll never get a medal on the field because she's got no combat experience. And she can't get that because she's a girl."

Nori cleared her throat. "I don't want combat experience. And I prefer _woman_." She said in a low, dead-calm voice.

"So do I." Her fiancé muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple. Yoshi pretended to vomit.

"Face it. Girls can't fight." He caught the flame in Nori's eyes. "Fine. Women. Whatever."

"I beat you in practice." Ty Lan challenged him.

"That was a year ago. I've been up against the best the Earth King has for the last twelve months and you've being playing at candles with the new recruits. I could beat you in a second. And Lu always beat you at hand-to-hand."

"That doesn't count."

"Hells it doesn't."

"Lu Ten doesn't think like a dirt-clod chicken-pig." Ty Lan turned around. "I can beat you."

Lu Ten shook his head. If there was one thing he was certain about, it was his skills with hand-to-hand. He couldn't Fire Bend but he made sure he was the best damn fighter in the whole Army otherwise. "You couldn't."

"I could!"

"Yoshi's right. Gir- _women_ aren't strong enough. That's why we don't want you on the front lines. We can't take care of you out there."

"I'd chew a battle cruiser before I'd _let_ you take care of me."

"Here comes the talk." Takeo muttered, dropping his head in his palm.

"Screw you."

"No, screw all of you idiots." Hirota cut off Ty Lan's tirade before it began. "I've been in mud for three weeks with only stinking privates and cockroaches for comapny. And _him_." He jerked his thumb at Lu Ten. "Worse yet."

"Burn me."

"Kiss my inferior ass, your Royal slug face." Hirota shook his head. "I'm not spending my first night back bickering over Army policy. Now pour that swill out again. We only have five more days to enjoy it."

Five more days. Lu Ten thought back to the tension in his father's tent, the sneer on Qin's face.

Five days couldn't go fast enough.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **I know this isn't the most analytical reaction but - AAAWWW! Lu Ten has friends!**

 **It's something you notice about the two Royal siblings we see in the show, Zuko and Azula - Zuko doesn't seem that have anyone in the Fire Nation to have his back. Apart from Iroh. In fact he doesn't even seem to go to school, the way Azula does.**

 **Azula has Mai and Ty Lee, friends from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. So maybe for the Princes, instead of the Royal Academy, they were sent to the Military Academy as officer cadets in training - like Westpoint for teenagers? And I don't imagine that playing nice and polite featured strongly in the Military Academy hence the constant teasing in the group.**

 **A few cameos here from show stalwarts - Remember the Chan in Ember Island that Azula fancied? The Admiral Chan here is his father. And Zhao... Well, it did sound strange that a a NAVY contingent was wandering about the Si Wong desert so I thought an absentminded admiral might do the trick. And as for him using political influence to get ahead - that seemed to suit Zhao down to the ground. He seemed to rise pretty high in the ranks pretty speedily considering how many blunders he made...**

 **As for the other insinuating about Zhao - that has no basis in fact but I reckoned that sexual proclivities are always good when you want to throw a dirty insult at someone. And Army brats/young officers aren't known for their politeness.**

 **Also, Ty Lan - guess who she's related to?**

 **Okay, enough of my ruminating! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (it turned out longer than I expected but I completely fell for Yoshi and Ty Lan and the gang together). Please don't forget to**

 **REVIEW!**

 **COMMENT!**

 **FAVOURITE!**

 **FOLLOW!**

 **You know I love them!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Thousand Silver Scars**

* * *

 _Fire Nation Main Camp_

* * *

"OH! The Great Western Dragon makes the Earth Kingdom QUUAAAAAIL…"

"Shut up!"

Unconcerned by the growled order from the darkened tents around them, Takeo let out a loud belch.

"He's known for his-"

"Yoshi, for flame's sake, shut him up before we have the whole camp up."

Yoshikazu blinked in bleary unconcern. "What's up, Lu? He's happy."

" _He's_ flaming ecstatic. Everyone else-"

"IT'S A LONG _LONG_ WAY TO BAAAA SING SEE- Oopmh!"

"I'll give you another one if you don't shut up."

Takeo sagged between his friends shoulders and gave a resentful wheeze. "You're nooooo fun, Luuuu…"

"'S causes he's the _Prince_." Yoshi slurred on Takeo's other side.

Takeo sniggered. "Lu Ten on the Burning Throne!"

"Yeah, yeah." They stumbled through the line of outhouses to where the officer tents were pegged out in neat rows. Takeo lurched instinctively towards one of the smaller ones, nearly dragging his two friends to the ground.

"Home from home!"

He toppled into the shadows. A dull crash sounded inside the leather walls.

Yoshi tilted his head to one side and sniffed. Even three-quarters drunk and exhausted, his nose wrinkled at the sudden stink. "Flame-brain's kicked over the piss-pot again."

"I hope you pay that orderly double next time."

"On my wages?" The Fire Bender Captain snorted and hawked up a gob of mucus. Spitting in the dark, he shook his head. "S'not worth it."

The two of them stood in silence for a moment. Inside the tent, Takeo's humming gradually quieted then stopped. A gentle snore started, mingling with the creak of cricket-song and the snap of tent ropes against canvas panels.

The burden of Yoshi as well as his heavy armour plate pressed Lu Ten into the ground. He shifted for comfort, widening his stance to brace against his half-conscious friend. Yoshi stank of stale rice wine and cheap chilli oil. Lu Ten probably smelt no better. Goro would have his scalp tomorrow.

"Gods, I'm tired."

Lu Ten glanced sideways. Yoshi sounded almost sober. His friend swayed a gentle tick-tock against his side, one arm still slung like a heavy weight around Lu Ten's neck.

"It's two in the morning. I'm tired. We're all flaming tired."

"Nah." Yoshi shook his head like a bear-wolf trying to clear his ear. His head fell back, the military bun finally unraveling in a fall of coarse black hair. He stared up at the sky. Lu Ten didn't think he saw a single star. "Not that. Just… Tired."

His shoulders heaved in a body shrug. He tipped his head and it fell on Lu Ten's shoulder. Lu Ten could feel the impact of Yoshi's cheekbone bump against his plate.

The brown eyes closed. "Gods, I could sleep now."

"Yeah?" Lu Ten shuffled a step forward. The path was empty on both sides but he lowered his voice all the same. "Look, Yoshi. You need to go home."

"'M home."

"No, not here. _Home_." Although even as he said it, the word felt strange. He knew what he meant, really he did but… "Back to the Fire Nation. Few weeks leave on Ember Island. Sun, sand."

Even though his eyes didn't open, a frown creased between Yoshi's brows. "Can't, Lu."

"I'll talk to the Dragon. You've done enough, Yoshi." Lu Ten heaved his shoulder up, propping Yoshikazu to stand taller. Stand upright. "Go home, bask in glory for a few weeks. Find a few Academy girls to have fun with."

It was treason or, at the very least, enough for a court martial to say it but, spirits, he couldn't see Yoshi go down to Shan-Bao. Not Yoshi too.

"I'll write the order myself if I have to. Comes in handy being the Dragon's son every so often."

For once, the nickname didn't bite at him with the mixture of irritation and pride.

"No." Yoshi lifted his head. He dragged his free hand across his mouth then pushed it against Lu Ten's breast plate. He struggled, just briefly and then he was standing on his own again. His eyes blinked at Lu Ten blearily from behind the thatch of black hair.

"No. What'sh back there? Six brothers." Yoshikazu stabbed his finger in the air. "Six brothers I got. All older. 'm bottom of the pile. But here." He flung his hands backwards and nearly toppled off his feet. "Here, it'sh _me_. An' here… It'sh me. Just _me_."

The echo hung in the night air.

Yoshi dropped his head.

In a more sober man, it would be embarrassment. Fire Nationals had fiery tempers and the blood ran hot in their veins but such naked displays of emotion were frowned upon. An honourable man did not succumb to the flames of his own feelings but girded them with iron endurance.

Such sentimental indulgence was the reason the Earth Kingdom had degenerated from a powerful empire to the corrupt shell it was now. Too many nobles and Generals putting their own lust for power before the greater cause of their nation, making themselves into petty despots with their faces turned away from the flames of change. The Fire Nation did not condemn a man's ambition to improve his lot in life. Innovation and initiative was praised as part of furthering the honour of the nation.

To seek glory for one's own self was a different matter.

"'M goin' to bed." Yoshi's voice was quieter, an echo of his normal bellow. "Too much t'drink."

"Yeah." Lu Ten rubbed the back of his neck, pulling his head to the side as though to stretch. Anything that seemed normal. Showing sympathy - spirits forbid, showing _empathy_ with Yoshi would just make it worse. "Me too."

Yoshi shuffled forward. Just before he ducked down for the tent entrance, he landed a soft punch on Lu Ten's breast-plate, just enough to make the metal ring. "You look stupid like that, Lu. Like a Navy pansy."

"Thanks Yoshi. Fat sea-slug."

The low chuckle faded as the canvas door slipped back in place.

The night air felt good on his throat as Lu Ten inhaled in the silence. Sharp and clear, like a drink of cold water straight from the mountains. At night, the stink of earth and dust that hung about the Main Camp was quieter, overlaid by the comforting choke of soot and the insidious tingle of the night-blooming poppies that dotted the churned up pathways of the camp.

It felt strange to stand still at night and not have a sword in his hand.

Despite what he said to Yoshi, he didn't need to sleep. Too many weeks of sleep deprivation, coupled with the two pills Ty Lan had slipped him in the mess hall, had robbed his mind of the last lingering ache of tiredness. When the time came, he would collapse, a heap of boneless flesh and stiff armour, and sleep for days. Then wake and begin the process again.

It had happened before. It happened every time he got reserve leave.

There was a type of comfort in that routine. Once or twice, he wondered what he would do when he did go _back_. Back to the Fire Nation. To _normal_ life. Where time was measured in days and weeks and months. Not the four weeks on, one week off, rhythm of the front lines.

Since he left the academy, Lu Ten had never planned his life further than the next four weeks of fighting. How did a man go from that to planning for months and years ahead? How could his mind stretch that far, when all his training fixed on living a day and a week at a time?

How could he plan for a nation if he couldn't even plan for himself?

 _Ah, spirits. What the flame is wrong with me?_

 _He_ didn't have these kind of thoughts. Agni's balls of fire, what was he? A prancing Earth Kingdom noble, sniffing flowers and writing poetry?

"It's the drink." Lu Ten muttered. "Drink and pills. Need to stop the pills."

 _Soon. I'll stop soon. After the next round._

 _There's still more fighting to do._

Once he turned into the Upper Ring, treading between the wide, white tents as quietly as plate armour would allow, there was no one left. It was easy to imagine the camp deserted, if it wasn't for the two Imperial Firebenders, standing sentry outside his father's tent.

For a moment, the dutiful son in Lu Ten felt the impulse to go up and apologise to his father. He had disappointed Iroh with his behaviour that night. A Prince could expect more from a son to whom he had given so many second chances.

It took hold for only a moment, that longing for his father's familiar hand on his shoulder and the sad smile that promised forgiveness as much as it hid disappointment. Then the Prince in Lu Ten reasserted himself. It was late and he was not a child to imagine his father slept alone with only the dreams of Lu Ten's long dead mother to warm him. Iroh never made a secret of the women he took in as companions. Probably there was one with the Dragon now, helping him to forget the cares of the day.

Lu Ten paused, in the centre of the Upper Ring. Then, he shrugged and turned away.

There would be other days. He had learnt to wait.

His own tent was only a few paces away. His fingers reached up to fumble with the straps of armour under his arm. Sleep was still far off but at least he could lie down. Lu Ten stretched his neck to the side, hearing the bones crunch against each other in the high of his back. His eyes slid half-closed in relief at the slight loosening of tight muscles. He pushed the buckle clear of one strap, his arm awkwardly held at an angle.

"My Prince?"

Golden eyes flew open.

His free hand flew to his shoulder. Lu Ten pivoted back, sliding into a side stance. The shadows rippled. A gasp.

A woman?

" _Who's there_?"

"Please." The shadows took form. A white face emerged in to the night air. The moonlight, what little there was, turned pale skin pearly and glittered in the wide brown eyes. "Please, my prince, I meant no harm."

Wide brown eyes. Pretty eyes.

Lu Ten straightened. His empty fist clenched to a fist and lowered from his shoulder to his waist. "Lady Mizuki. It is not wise for a lady to walk alone so late."

"I wished to see you, sire." Her own hands twisted like writhing snakes. "I-I wished to apologise if I had offended you-"

"Please-"

"No, sire. Please."

She stepped forward. The light of a brazier nearby shone on the gleam of red silk between the folds of her cloak. Her hair was down now, not tied up in its proper bun. Down about her shoulders, it formed her face, softening the pointed lines and making those brown eyes big and vulnerable.

Lu Ten took an instinctive glance up. The Imperial Firebenders guarding his father's tent had not moved an inch yet he was acutely aware that they knew every move he made. And would no doubt report back every move to his father come dawn.

He kept his hands down and in clear sight.

"I did not mean to offend you, sire." Mizuki took a step forward. "Or to speak against your service."

"Thank you."

The sardonic retort made the lady's eyes drop. Her hair fell forward, great dark masses of it. "If… If we could speak privately?"

 _In a mongoose lizard's turd._

It was cruel and probably unjust. After all, the girl wasn't to blame for her prejudices. Mostly.

It was unfortunate that the last thing Lu Ten found attractive in a woman was knowing that she secretly disdained him.

The snub nose didn't help either.

Neither did the watching guards. For a moment, he felt transported back four years to the Military Academy. And finding a squealing girl in his bed with the hot glare of Training Captain Harumi boring into the back of his neck.

"I don't think that would be wise."

Mizuki didn't look up but the hair, long and loose sheets of it, jerked once. "Oh."

 _Did her uncle set her up to this?_ Maybe. It was always hard to tell.

Realising he had been just a touch too curt, Lu Ten restrained the urge to rub his hand over his face like a tired child. Babying debutantes with fragile egos was not what he needed after nearly twenty hours on his feet.

"It's late. Night-time."

 _State the obvious, Lu Ten. She'd hardly come to your tent in the middle of the day, would she?_

"Your uncle will wonder where you are."

 _A blinding lie. He's probably watching everything, the skinny lizard._

The thought was more effective than a thousand Imperial Firebenders. For good measure, Lu Ten hooked his thumbs into the belt of his armour.

"Your apology is appreciated, Lady Mizuki."

 _A sop. Throw her a sop._

"Perhaps we will meet again when I return to the Fire Nation. My Aunt has tea-gatherings sometimes, in the Palace gardens."

 _Invite her, Ursa, get her off my back and I will kiss your feet for eternity. I'll even baby-sit Azula._

"Of course, sire." The head didn't move this time. That was surely a good sign. "I… I look forward to it. I am sorry if I-"

"Yes. Good night."

She moved away. Along with all his father's dreams of standing in on a new royal wedding.

He should probably escort her, Lu Ten reflected. But, spirits, if that wasn't the last thing on his mind right now. It squatted a million miles behind lying on his camp bed and staring up at the canvas ceiling.

Besides, there were dozens of guards around, detailed to protect his father. At least one would see she made it back to her uncle's care untouched.

"And good night." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, where the topknot had begun to unravel. He shoved open the tent door and tugged on the final few laces. The breast plate gaped open on his right-hand-side. He undid the knot on his belt and let the heavy metal crash to the floor.

Absently, he scratched across his stomach, sighing a little as the cool air slipped underneath his tunic. A pity Goro was gone to bed. He would kill for a ba-

Blade.

 _Blade_.

Silver flashed on his stomach. The killer's bulk was against his back, pressed in deep. He hissed, tensing. Instinct kicked in, punched energy through his muscles.

"Nice try."

The killer ducked, just as his arm swung up to break their hold. Under his arm, slippery as an unagi. Lu Ten lifted his leg to block the new blow but pressure in the back of his knee sent a burst of pain that made him grunt in surprise, toppling back onto his back. The candles guttered in the night air, streaks of flame in the corner of his eyes.

He fell backwards on the iron bars of his camp-bed. The springs screamed. The pain from his stitches lanced once but there was training first, overriding the pain, bringing up his hands to twist and grab…

"Best hand-to-hand, my ass."

Lu Ten blinked. A slow grin edged across his lips, just a second behind the stroke of his hands, sliding up and up from a ripe curved waist to the wonderful heaviness of the best breasts in the Fire Nation Military Academy.

"Again with the surprise attack?"

Captain Ty Lan of the Eighth Royal Firebender Guards let the knife linger just a second. Then she rolled her eyes and tossed it away. It flew to somewhere on the floor, covered by shadows from the blown-out candles. "Surprise is the excuse losers use."

Luckily, Lu Ten thought with a grin, the moon was full that night. There was more than enough light to see his friend's sneer, her casual clothes… And the gleam of milk-white skin as the first of those clothes slipped from her and joined the knife somewhere on his floor.

"You always have to have the last word, don't you, Ty?"

Her eyes narrowed. She shifted on his hips, sending flames curling in the pit of Lu Ten's stomach. He had time to draw breath, a quick huff in, before her lips crashed down on his. Hot and hard and impatient with just a hint of teeth.

Lu Ten fisted his hand in thin gauze of her under shirt. The other he shoved behind him, a prop to lift him up and meet the bruising kiss fire with fire. The springs squeaked with the swaying weight of their bodies, groaning in protest at the fierce assault.

Ty didn't believe in keeping it coy. Blunt as a blazing inferno. In, done, out, and keep your lips zipped. An arrangement that suited them both.

Friends had each other's backs, right?

Ty Lan pulled back. Her lips dragged on his, with a faint pop as she broke off. Hot breath brushed his face, sweet-sour with wine and and undertone of garlic.

"Shut up, Prince Lu Ten."

* * *

 **We're getting there, we're getting there...**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


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